Rank: First Lieutenant
Unit: I Troop, 3rd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
MOS: 1204 – Armored Reconnaissance Unit Commander
Awards: Bronze Star Medal with Valor Device and Oak Leaf Cluster, Purple Heart Medal Oak Leaf Cluster, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Unit awards: Valorous Unit Award, Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm device
Enlisted by: Reserve
Date of birth: 25-Jun-1946
Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Marital status: Married to Cecelia M. Crane, one daughter
Campaign: Vietnam Conflict
Entered service: 2-Jun-1968
Start of tour: 14-Jun-1969
Incident date: 18-Dec-1969
Date of casualty: 18-Dec-1969
Age at death: 23
Cause of death: Hostile, Died. Grenade. Multiple fragmentation wounds.
William Randall Crane was killed while platoon leader on a military vehicle on a military mission when a hostile force was encountered. / Platoon leader on armored cavalry assault vehicle (ACAV) on reconnaissance mission. Engaged hostile force in firefight.
Location of fatality: Binh Long, South Vietnam, XT 691 975
Place of interment: Willamette National Cemetery, Portland, Oregon, USA
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BRONZE STAR MEDAL
WITH VALOR DEVICE
SECOND LIEUTENANT WILLIAM RANDALL CRANE, ARMOR
11 SEPTEMBER 1969
I TROOP, 3rd SQUADRON
11TH ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT
Second Lieutenant Crane distinguished himself by heroism in connection with ground operations against a hostile force on 11 September 1969 while serving as a platoon leader with Troop I, 3d Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment, in the Republic of Vietnam. On this date Troop I was located in a night defensive position when it suddenly came under an intense rocket-propelled grenade attack. Lieutenant Crane immediately aroused the members of his platoon and deployed them to defensive positions along the friendly perimeter. Exposing himself to the hostile fire, he moved from position to position, encouraging his men. He then returned to his own vehicle, employing all organic weapons against the enemy. He assisted several men in the treatment of their wounds and insured that they were safely evacuated out of the area. At one point he was wounded by grenade fragments, but he continued to resupply his men with ammunition, braving the enemy fire. Second Lieutenant Crane’s courageous leadership, devotion to duty and disregard for his own safety were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army.
Headquarters, II Field Force Vietnam General Orders No. 3236 (24 October 1969)