William Vincent Shorts , VRHS Class of 1965

In memory of Specialist 4th class William Vincent Shorts K.I.A. on this date 48 years ago 4 Dec. 1966. William was born 7 may 1945 in Rensselaer, NY.

He was a graduate of Rensselaer high school before being drafted into the U.S. Army in 1965. After training in Fort Lewis, WA, he was assigned to Charlie company 1/22 4th infantry div.and deployed to Viet nam on 21 july 1966. William was recognized in a local paper when, then as a private he participated in OPERATION SEWARD attached to elements of the 101st airborne div. capturing 200 enemy machine guns, grenades and a ton of rice. While being part of OPERATION PAUL REVERE IV near Pleiku in central Vietnam William was killed instantly by" DEATH BY MISADVENTURE", a term/code used by the military in Vietnam because there was no such thing as friendly fire. Meaning someone was someplace where they should not have been. Ironically William was exactly where he was suppose to be when a short round from a 4.2 inch mortar fired by the 1/35 infantry hit inside his perimeter while he was doing what he was good at and loved, protecting his men. According to his comrades he proudly always walked point while on patrol and never let you forget he was from RENSSELAER, NY. Sadly, a month after his death his family lost their house in Rensselaer to a fire. He was posthumously promoted to Specialist 4th Class and awarded the Purple Heart at a ceremony in 1967 at the Watervliet arsenal with his mother Mrs. Ann Shorts in attendance.

Spec.4th Class William Vincent Shorts was buried in Graceland cemetery in Albany NY with full military honors. William, you are not forgotten and RENSSELAER will never forget you. Rest in peace.

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