CITATION 

2003 Castle Memorial Award
is presented to
William Russell Raiford
USMA Class of 1952

The 2003 Castle Memorial Award is presented to William Russell Raiford  for outstanding service to the Nation, to the U.S. Army, and to West Point.  Mister Raiford has exemplified “Duty, Honor, Country” throughout his active duty and subsequent career and retirement.                    

William Russell Raiford is a man of multiple talents whose accomplishments make him worthy to receive the Benjamin Castle Award from the West Point Society of Washington, DC.  He served well in combat as a young officer, commanding a company of combat engineers.  After leaving active service with the Army, he has achieved enviable success in the fields of banking and industry and is well known for his leadership and devotion to service both in the United States and abroad in distinguished service organizations with strong honorable traditions.  Throughout it all, he has remained a trusted and respected member of the “Long Gray Line” serving with distinction in: the Association of Graduates;  in the West Point Society of Washington, DC,  and in the Class of 1952, serving as its President from 1972 to 1982.

West Pointers all over the world should recognize him best, and honor him most, for his willingness to bring his talent and leadership to the Chairmanship of the USMA Bicentennial Steering Committee for fourteen years of voluntary service.  The events which marked the 200th Anniversary of the founding of the United States Military Academy -- which brought to public attention the continuing value of an educational institution which has never given up on its principles of Duty, Honor, and Country -- equate to a classic example which characterizes the devotion Bill Raiford has exhibited for our beloved Alma Mater.

His efforts to bring to public attention the hallowed qualities of West Point and to live by the West Point values of Duty, Honor, and Country in all his activities have brought great credit to himself, his family and to the United States Military Academy. It is fitting, therefore, that the West Point Society of D.C. award William Russell Raiford, USMA Class of 1952, the Castle Memorial Award for 2003.