Profiles of Valor: MSgt William Crawford

William Crawford was a native of Pueblo, Colorado, a town about 40 miles south of Colorado Springs, which, in 1954, would become the home of the Air Force Academy.
He joined the Army in 1942 and a year later was a private with the 142nd Infantry Regiment 36th Infantry Division, serving in Italy. On September 13, 1943, he was his squad’s scout when they were attacked.
The USAFA cadet who discovered who his squadron floor janitor really was 33 years after his heroic actions in Italy later recounted that story in an article titled “Lessons in Leadership from a Janitor,” published by the prestigious Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania. According to Col. James Moschgat (Ret.) (USAFA ‘77): “William 'Bill’ Crawford certainly was an unimpressive figure, one you could easily overlook during a hectic day at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Mr. Crawford, as most of us referred to him back in the late 1970s, was our squadron janitor.”