Obituary of William Doolittle

William “Bill“ Doolittle USN/US Dept. of State, retired. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Harriet (Milliken) Doolittle of East Haven and two sons, Paul W. Doolittle (Julie) of Centennial, CO, and Robert E. Doolittle (Joanne) of Fairfax, VA. The grandfather of Tom and Will of Centennial; Greg and Carly of Fairfax; Tina Groth of El Paso, TX; Becca Martin of Centennial; and Clint Martin, USMC, of Bridgeport, CA. The great grandfather of Hannah Stringfellow and Sam Hayes of Centennial; Caleb and Kaylee Groth of El Paso; and Wyatt Martin of Bridgeport. Bill was born in New Haven on August 2, 1933, to the late Earl and Dorothy (Hudson) Doolittle. He graduated from Notre Dame High School in 1951 and then enlisted in the US Navy Seabees on July 1, 1952, as a Construction Electrician apprentice. He was assigned to MCB 6 and served at the Naval Communication Station, Port Lyautey, Morocco. Bill was discharged from the Navy in 1956 and worked several jobs in the New Haven area, but his calling was the Navy. Bill re-enlisted in the Navy in 1959 and served at the Naval Air Station, So. Weymouth, MA, where he met and married his wife Harriet, who was also in the Navy. Their next assignment was the Naval Air Station Atlanta, Marietta, GA, where Bill was promoted to Chief Petty Officer. Upon completion of that assignment, and with the Vietnam War escalating, Bill was re-assigned to NMCB 6 and went to Chu-Lai, Vietnam (6/67- 3/68). The next deployment was to NAS Roosevelt Roads, Puerto Rico (12/68-5/69). Bill was then placed with the Naval Support Unit, State Dept., Washington, DC. After a six-month tour in Tehran, Iran, and Islamabad, Pakistan, Bill and his family served two years at the US Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, where he was promoted to Senior Chief Construction Electrician. Subsequent tours at Omaha, NE, and Pensacola, FL, rounded out Bill’s career with the Seabees and he retired on 26 November 1975, with the rank of Senior Chief Construction Electrician. His awards and decorations include the following: Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V”, two Presidential Unit Citations, Navy Unit Commendation, Meritorious Unit Citation, 5 Good Conduct Awards, 2 National Defense Medals, Vietnam Service Medal with Fleet Marine Corp Insignia (3 campaigns), Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation with Palm (Gallantry Cross), Republic of Vietnam Meritorious Unit Citation and the Vietnam Campaign Medal. On 1 December 1975 Bill joined the US Dept. of State Foreign Service as a General Services Officer and was sent unaccompanied to Vientiane, Laos, serving there until February 1977. Returning to the US and rejoining his family, their next posting was Monrovia, Liberia, 1977-1979. From Monrovia it was on to Beijing, China, 1979-1981, then to Tokyo, Japan, 1981-1985, and ultimately to Seoul, Korea, 1985-1988. Bill and Harriet retired after completing 36 years of service to the United States and returned to East Haven to enjoy family, friends and neighbors. Family will receive friends from 4 to 7 PM on Tuesday, April 18, 2017, at the Clancy-Palumbo Funeral Home (Clancy Funeral Home), 43 Kirkham Ave., East Haven. Funeral service will be held at the Clancy-Palumbo Funeral Home on Wednesday, April 19, at 10:30 AM with Committal and Full Military Honors to follow at East Lawn Cemetery, East Haven. In lieu of flowers, Harriet requests donations be made to the Seabee Memorial Scholarship Foundation, PO Box 667, Gulfport, MS 39502 (www.seabee.org) in memory of her husband, William H. Doolittle.