Obituary - Captain William Nathan Banks

Captain William Nathan Banks (U.S. Coast Guard, Ret.), of Oakmont, PA, succumbed to multiple myeloma on June 6, 2014 after a long and vibrant life of 93 years.

Captain Banks was born February 9, 1921 in Winchester, Tennessee to William Kuhl and Sallie Shook Banks.  He was preceded in death by his wife of 45 years, Priscilla Graham Cochrane, and later his wife of 11 years, Nancy Reid Crawford; his son Nathan Shook Banks, brother Charles Shook Banks of Winchester TN, and sister Sarah Banks Stokes, of Knoxville, TN.  He is survived by his sister Betsy Banks Stoneburner, of Chattanooga TN, daughter Martha Banks Gittings and son-in-law Stephen Reed Gittings of Dayton, MD, stepson Chip Crawford and his wife Michael of Fox Chapel, PA, stepdaughter Wendy Crawford Galleher and husband George of Charlotte, NC, and stepdaughter Chris Crawford of Charlotte, NC; and by two grandchildren, Allison Graham Gittings and Dana DeLisle Gittings of the Washington D.C. area; six step-grandchildren and their seven children.

Captain Banks had career assignments to numerous ports on the east coast, Hawaii and Vietnam, including commands of several ships, Coast Guard Activities in Vietnam, and posts on the home front.  He briefed President Johnson on security issues during the Vietnam War and retired in 1973 after thirty years of commissioned service and served his last post as Chief of Staff Coast Guard District One, in charge of New England Coast Guard activities.  After the service he accepted a position as Director of the Physical Plant at Carnegie Mellon University.  He joined the Oakmont Presbyterian Church, and earned the rating of Life Master in duplicate bridge.  He was active in the Navy League, the American Contract Bridge League and Oakmont Country Club.  He enjoyed tennis and golf and was a skilled craftsman; refinishing antiques was his life-long passion. 

William Banks attended the Elm City Tutoring School in New Haven, CT and then went on to graduate from the United States Coast Guard Academy.  During World War II he served on the Destroyer Escort PETERSON and progressed up the gunner line attending advanced Fire Control School in Washington.  After anti-submarine warfare missions in the Atlantic, he sailed westward to Hawaii, escorting a convoy of occupational troops to Japan and patrolling off Honshu.  In the years that followed he served as Search and Rescue Controller in Cape May, NJ, before heading to Savannah, GA to become Executive Officer aboard the AURORA.  In 1949 he returned to the Coast Guard Academy for five years as instructor of Gunnery.  In 1951 he married Priscilla Cochrane and in 1953 they headed to Honolulu, where they had their first child, Nathan, and served on the DURANT, WINNEBAGO, and BERING STRAIT.  In 1956 he was sent to headquarters in Washington, DC to be Chief Officer of Status Section, and their second child, Martha, was born.  Promoted to Commander in 1958, he was sent to Boston to command the WAVP McCULLOCH before moving to Newport, RI, where he attended the Naval War College.  He stayed on as staff instructor, completing a Master’s Degree in International Relations in 1962 with a thesis on the threat of communism in Latin America, focusing on Cuba.  From Newport he moved to Cape Elizabeth ME, to become Commanding Officer of the BARRATARIA.  He was sent to headquarters in Washington, DC to become Assistant Chief of Coast Guard Search and Rescue, only to be sent immediately to Vietnam.  The experience proved to be the most interesting and rewarding of his career.  As Commander of Squadron One and Coast Guard Advisor to the Naval Advisory Group, his squadron supported amphibious raids, patrols, search and rescue, port security, explosives handling, and aids to navigation.  While in Vietnam, he mentored at-risk boys and helped launch a blind school for girls.  He sponsored a gifted teen, Nguyen Thi Chien, to attend Perkins Blind School in the United States and later to Brandeis University.  Chien was to live with his family for the remainder of his career, following his return to Washington as Chief of the Search and Rescue Division.

From cradle to grave Capt. Banks was fortunate to embrace loving extended families, including the compassionate staff at Longwood, to share the joys and the trials that come with a full life.

Friends will be received Wednesday, June 11, 2014 from 4-6 pm in the English Funeral Home & Cremation Services, Inc., 378 Maryland, Avenue, Oakmont, PA 15139.  A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, June 12, 2014 at 10 am in the Ballroom at Longwood at Oakmont, 500 Route 909, Verona, PA 15147.  Interment will be in Arlington National Cemetery. Arrangements are pending.

Memorial contributions may be made to Longwood at Oakmont