Brother Anderson first joined Boston’s Camp 9 in Boston on June 18, 1907 and subsequently held membership in Camp 51, Roslindale; Camp 79, Melrose; and Camp 61, Boston. He was elected Department Commander in 1922 and as Commander-in-Chief in 1938.

He had the distinction of initiating the Grand Army of the Republic Highway as a national project for our Order, and was privileged to be a chief figure at the initiatory dedication on the Atlantic seaboard and later, at the dedication of completion on the Pacific coast.

Brother “Bill” Anderson had a long lasting friendship with PCinC Charles H.E. Moran (1947-48), beginning when the two met in 1911. PCinC Moran described him as “a man who loved our Organization, and was willing to show that love by working for its advancement. His genial, cordial bearing and quick humor made him greatly beloved by everyone. When he loosed his brilliant eloquence, his listeners deeply felt the significance of the Grand Army and of our heritage as an organization and as Americans.”

Brother Anderson served as Appointive Secretary to Boston Mayor Curley from 1929 to 1933 and later as an insurance examiner and corporations inspector for the State of Massachusetts.

After a long and painful illness he died in Highway Highlands, California, on December 7, 1953. His wife, PNP Margaret Anderson, survived him as did his son, Maj. Wm. L. Anderson, Jr. who was serving in the Armed Forces in Japan at the time.

From an obit by PCinC Chas. H.E. Moran in the January-February 1954 Banner

July 2007, Submitted by PCinC Steve Michaels