Friday, January 20, 2012
Thursday, January 19, 2012
I wrote this song in honor of all those who bravely sailed the Atlantic near the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Bill was born on March 21st,
1945 in Boston, MASS. In June 1963 he
graduated from high school in Belvidere, NC then joined the United States Marine
Corps in October that same year. In 1964
Bill was chosen as an extra and stunt man in the movie “In Harm’s Way” staring
John Wayne, Kirk Douglas, and several others.
He served as a Scout / Raider in
Viet Nam 1965 / 1966. During that time
he received several Combat awards including the Bronze Star, two Vietnamese
Crosses of Gallantry and two Purple Hearts.
Bill served as a Marine Drill
Instructor at Parris Island 1967 to 1969.
In February 1969 he was commissioned as a Second Lt. and returned to Viet
Nam later that year. He was distinguished to be chosen to command a Reconnaissance
company as a Second Lt. where he served as the Company Commander of “B” Co. 3rd,
Recon Bn. in Okinawa for 18 months.
In 1972 Bill was a Capt. of Marines
in the Philippine Islands. During that three
year tour he was assigned as the Operation’s Officer / Security Officer for
Camp Grandy, the first Vietnamese Refugee Camp after the fall of freedom in
Viet Nam.
He was also one of the first
Marlboro Men in 1974 / 1976 on T.V., wrote all the action scenes, added
characters, and wrote much of the dialog for the movie “High Velocity”. He was also the stunt double for both Ben
Gazara and Paul Waynfield in that movie.
In 1976 Bill resigned his regular
commission and was retained as a reserve Marine Captain. During that time he became a police officer /
Detective in Jacksonville, NC from 1977 to 1985. In 1983 Bill was placed in charge of the
Special Operations Division, Jacksonville Police Dept. He also served as second in command of the
Jacksonville SWAT team and was their sniper. Because of an injury, he retired from police
work and became the manager of the Belk Dept. store and later an automobile
salesman for Kennedy Olds in Jacksonville, NC.
Bill retired from the U.S.M.C. in
1987 as an Intelligence Officer. That
same year he opened “Stem to Stern”, a nautical gift shop located in Swansboro,
NC. He was also the President of the
Small Business Assn. as well as President of the local Chamber of
Commerce.
Following
his avocation as a folk singer, he cut his first album, “Away Haul Away” in
1987. That was soon to be followed by
“Legends of the Lone Star Bear, Book 1 and 2” which were children’s albums to
accompanying Teddy Bears and Books by
Remi Kramer. Remi Kramer was known as
the “Father of the Marlboro Commercials” and was also a movie director in
Hollywood. Later albums followed such as
“Songs of the Sea, My Hearts in the Highlands, Civil War Memories, and The
Highland Cloth.”
Throughout the years Bill has
performed as a folk singer, song writer at several events and clubs such as
“The White Horse Pub, Paddy’s Hollow, The Dram Tree Restaurant, Several Folk
Arts Festivals, The Williamsburg Scottish Festival, and many, many more. Bill
also holds two BA degrees from Campbell University, NC in History and
International Studies.
Currently Bill lives with his wife
Betty and his little Shitzu Brandy. Bill
has four children and four grandchildren.
Other albums of Bill Darrow
 |
| Songs of the American Civil War, popular on both sides and popular today |
This album is a collection of Scottish/Celtic Songs that were performed at the Williamsburg Scottish Games in Williamsburg, VA
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