Technical Sergeant William J. Keech was drafted into the U.S. Army in April of 1945. He was inducted at Fort Meade, MD and was transferred by train to Ft. McClellan, AL for basic training as an infantryman. The war on both fronts ended before he completed basic training. He was then assigned to the Occupation Forces of Italy. He sailed by troop ship (formally the USS Manhattan) and landed in Naples, Italy. He was quartered in an abandoned volcano crater when he arrived in Naples. He was then assigned to the Cavalry Reconnaissance Troop of the 88th "Blue Devil" Infantry Division. He was stationed in a small town called Gorizia di Cormons in the province of Venezia Giulia where they spoke an entirely different dialect. He was then sent to study radio and became a radio operator, raising his rank to Technical Sergeant. His mission was to patrol the Yugoslav border 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. When his term ended, he left Italy by way of Livorno. Upon arriving in the united States, he was sent to Fort Dix, NJ where he was then mustered out. The date of his discharged was January 18, 1947. Father William Keech has served his country and his Alma Mater of Salesianum by teaching multiple subjects and working to make the school a better place then when he found it. He is a model Salesian Gentlemen and a founding member of the Salesianum Veterans Alumni Committee. Father Keech has a fund in the school's endowment and a classroom at the school, both named in his honor.  Father Keech was also elected to the Salesianum Alumni Hall of Fame in 2014.