Pictured is Ralph Honey, who met Hillard when the two were about 7 or 8 years old. P-J photo by Eric Tichy

RANDOLPH — The planned renaming of a bridge in Randolph is set to honor CPL William James Hillard II. The recognition of Hillard and his sacrifice during the Vietnam War means a lot to family and friends — especially one who makes sure to maintain the veteran’s grave every Memorial Day.

Hillard, known as Bill to everyone who knew him, was killed in action during the Vietnam War after volunteering for a patrol. At the time he left behind his parents, his sister, Alan, and his widow, Rosemary. His mother has since passed as well.

Hillard was known to be a friend to everyone he met, and meant a lot to the Randolph community while alive — so much so that in 1970 a documentary was made about him on ABC News called “Missing in Randolph.” The idea of Hillard being a friend to everyone is emphasized many times throughout the documentary, including during the time he served in the PeaceCorps in India. To this day, Hillard’s friends and family are still feeling this loss.

Ralph Honey lived across the street from Hillard growing up and knew him for most of his childhood, with them being born only a few months apart.

“We met when we were about 7 and 8 years old,” Honey said. “He was born in ’48 and I was born in ’47, but towards the end of ’47. We were only a few months apart but then I moved to Buffalo and had also skipped kindergarten so I ended up graduating before Bill.”

Honey and Hillard spent a lot of their childhood together, and Honey had many fond memories of him. This includes one time when they were 13 years old and tried to go fishing with about 6 inches of snow on the ground.

“We would always go fishing in the creek in Randolph, and that year we had no nightcrawlers for bait,” Honey said. “We were told of a secret spot where we could find them by the cannery because that cannery had a steamline that was kept warm so there was no snow there. So, we went there and found a whole slew of nightcrawlers around there. We got the wood from my grandpa and made a fire and we hadn’t had the bait in the water for a minute when Bill caught a trout.”

The two boys had been surrounded by other fishermen trying to fish at the time who were very surprised at the boys having both wood and nightcrawlers.

“They asked, ‘Where’d you get the nightcrawlers?'” Honey said. “And Bill said, ‘Do you want to buy some?’ So then we kept going back to the spot and getting more nightcrawlers and selling them to these other fishermen. We made about $30 over those few days, and that was a lot of money back then.”

Honey’s other memories of Hillard included going over to his house for dinner some nights, with permission from both of their mothers, and one time when they built a car out of orange crates and some buggy wheels.

“We attached buggy wheels to these orange crates and rode it down this really steep hill in Randolph,” Honey said. “We ended up crashing it into the ditch, and that was the end of the orange crate car.”

For Honey, having his friend recognized by having the bridge named after him means a lot.

“When all of the boys got out of service after Vietnam, we didn’t get any recognition,” Honey said, “and now Bill is getting some recognition for the sacrifice that he made over there.”

Additionally, the bridge can be seen from Hillard’s gravesite, which sits right next to his mother’s.

When Hillard was killed in action in March 1969, Honey was in the Navy and was out at sea when he got the news. There had been no way for him to return for the funeral, but when he got back and visited the grave of his friend he found some old flowers there and took the time to replace them.

“That was when I made the commitment that every Memorial Day I would come and put flowers on his grave as long as God allowed me to,” Honey said.

Hillard’s widow, Rosemary, has since relocated to Massachusetts and his sister to Binghamton, according to Honey, and it has become hard for them to visit and take care of his grave, which is another reason why Honey continues to do it.

State Sen. George Borrello, R-Sunset Bay, led the effort to have the bridge named after Hillard. “This bridge will stand as a testament to Corporal Hillard’s commitment and selflessness to our great nation,” Borrello said. “It is also a reminder to all who cross it that freedom isn’t free, it is made possible by the service and sacrifice of people like Corporal Hillard. We can never fully repay that debt, but we can remember and honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for us and our nation.”