Dorothy Carter Sanders

Dorothy married Kendall Banning on 15 Nov 1915 in Borough of Manhattan, New York, New York, USA. Kendall (son of William Calvin Banning and Helen Josephine Mellen) was born on 20 Sep 1879 in New York, New York, USA; died on 27 Dec 1944 in Fort Howard, Maryland, USA; was buried in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

William Calvin Banning was born in New York City, the only child of LTC Kendall and Dorothy Banning. He was most fortunate that the schools he attended were like prep schools?Friends Seminary Elementary in New York, McKinley Tech High School in Washington, DC, and Bulkeley High School in New London, CT. His adolescence was spent in the bucolic hills and on the shore of Old Lyme, CT. He and his best friend, Scotty Thompson, camped out, swam, hunted and fished, and listened to music, a love he was to carry through life. He also was an avid member of Cub Scouts and Boy Scouts.

"Bill" entered West Point in August 1935 and graduated 12 Jun 1939. His first assignment was at an Air Corp flying school, where he studied navigation and airplane mechanics. In December 1939, he was assigned to the 6th Infantry Regiment at Jefferson Barracks, MO, as the communications officer for the regiment. In July 1941, he transferred to the Signal Corps and was assigned to the 144th Armored Signal Company at Pine Camp, NY, where he organized and operated schools for radio operators, repairmen, and other communication personnel. He wrote much of the signal operations instructions for armored divisions and all of the instructions for replacement centers.

Bill was a Signal Corps observer with the British Eighth Army in Egypt and developed an improved method of wiring the radio and intercommunication systems for tanks. He served with a Signal battalion in combat in Europe and was in charge of the automatic telephone equipment in Heidelberg, Germany. From December 1946 until August 1947, he was cryptography security officer at the Army Security Agency, Europe.

Bill resigned his commission as a lieutenant colonel in 1949 but continued with the National Guard and Army Reserves. He received a bachelor?s degree in electrical engineering from Speed Engineering School, University of Louisville, in 1951. From 1951 until 1979, Bill served with the Naval Security Station, Washington, DC, and with the National Security Agency at Ft. Meade.

His first marriage to Katherine Whitaker ended in divorce. Together, they had two children, Richard and Julia. After the war, he married Mildred Stirratt and they had two sons, Charles and Edward. Upon Mildred?s death, Bill married Shirley Michael True.

Bill was a Scoutmaster and Cubmaster, was on the Boy Scout Commission Staffand a member of the God and Country Award Committee. He was church treasurer and a Meals on Wheels volunteer. Bill was a tender, compassionate, generous, and very witty man. Many of his friends have called him "the perfect gentleman." He was full ofcour- age that is born of loyalty to all that is noble and worthy. He loved music, particularly jazz. He had ancestors on both sides of the Civil War and had a keen interest in that war. Bill was enthusiastic in everything, whether work or play, and would try anything. Failure or adversity did not discourage him. He had self-esteem, assurance, and persistent determination.

Bill?s father, Kendall, was an editor, noted author (he wrote West Point Today), and poet. Bill spent many evenings reading the books of his father?s poems. One of his favorites was an invocation from The Great Adventure.

Family/Spouse: Katherine Whitaker. Katherine was born on 16 Jan 1921 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA; died on 11 Oct 2015. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

William married Mildred Stirratt on 1 Oct 1948 in Cumberland County, North Carolina, USA. Mildred was born in 1912; died in 1989. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Shirley Michael True. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Living. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Living. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Living. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]