Captain William R. Galbraith, 81, of Williamsburg, Va., died Wednesday, Feb. 7, 2018. He was a native of Prairie City, Ore., and had lived in Williamsburg for the past 16 years.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 55 years, Virginia H. Galbraith; mother, Lorena M. Galbraith; and father, Ray W. Galbraith.
He is survived by his sister, Patricia Howard; two daughters, Laurie Weckstein of Chesapeake, Va., and Lisa Galbraith of Welches, Ore.; son, David Galbraith of Vienna, Va.; and grandchildren, Andrew and Timothy Weckstein, Liam Beckman and Camryn and Spencer Galbraith.
Captain Galbraith graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in 1959 with a Bachelor of Science Degree. He attended the Naval Post Graduate School, Monterey, Calif., from 1964 to 1965 and graduated from the U.S. Air Force Command and Staff School, Montgomery, Ala., in 1972. He received a Master of Public Administration Degree from Auburn University in 1972.
Captain Galbraith served in the U.S. Navy from 1959 to 1989. Following flight training, he and his family were stationed at Barbers Point, Hawaii. He flew the C-118 aircraft throughout the Pacific theater, after which he studied at the Naval Post Graduate School, Monterey, Calif. This was followed by a tour of duty as a flight instructor in the Advanced Training Command flying S-2 aircraft in Corpus Christi, Texas, and F-9F aircraft in Kingsville, Texas.
For the next 15 years, Captain Galbraith was assigned to fly the A-6 Low-Level Attack aircraft in combat and training operations from a variety of shore bases and aircraft carriers. He has served on the USS Enterprise, USS Ranger, USS John F. Kennedy, USS Kitty Hawk, USS Carl Vinson and USS Coral Sea on various cruises to the Western Pacific, Atlantic, Mediterranean and Indian oceans.
He served on the staffs of Commander Medium Attack Tactical Electronic Warfare Pacific as A-6 Readiness officer, Commander Carrier Group Four, as assistant chief of Staff for Operations, and commander in chief U.S. Atlantic Fleet as assistant chief of staff Ordnance and Logistics and assistant deputy chief of Staff Logistics Readiness.
Captain Galbraith’s military awards include a Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal, Air Medal (5), Navy Commendation Medal (Combat V), Navy Achievement Medal, Meritorious Unit Commendation, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Service Medal (4), Sea Service Deployment Ribbon (2), Overseas Service Ribbon, Vietnam Gallantry Cross w/Palm, Unit Citation and Vietnam Campaign Medal.
Captain Galbraith commanded Attack Squadron Fifty-Two, Attack Squadron Forty-Two, U.S. Naval Activities Spain, and Naval Station Rota Spain. After retirement from the Navy, Captain Galbraith worked 13 years for the DCS Corporation, Alexandria, Va., as a defense contractor on Navy programs.
A gathering of family and friends will be held from 2 to 4 p.m., Friday, Feb. 16, at Nelsen Funeral Home, 3785 Strawberry Plains Road, Williamsburg, with an informal service to begin at 3 p.m. Interment will take place in Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.
Share online condolences with the family at nelsenwilliamsburg.com.
