Lieutenant Colonel William Arthur Bayliss, Jr. entered military service in the Naval Reserves in 1962, prior to graduating from Saint Anselm’s College. In 1964 he transferred to the U.S. Army, completed basic training and AIT at Fort Gordon, Georgia, and was commissioned as Second Lieutenant upon completion of Officer Candidate School at Fort Benning in June 1965. LTC Bayliss then completed Airborne Training and Jungle Warfare Training in Panama.

His subsequent assignments were Battalion S-4, 1/6 Mechanical Infantry 1st AD; HQs USARV as Supply Officer and Perimeter Defense Officer of Tan Son Nut Air Base, and upon returning to the United States, transferred to The Army Finance Corp with initial assignments as Deputy Finance and Accounting Officer at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey. Upon completion of the Basic and Advanced Finance Course was assigned to Valley Forge General Hospital as the Finance and Accounting Officer. Additional assignments included the Army Materiel Command as Operational Research and System Analyst; OSD Manpower Reserve Affairs as a Compensation Analyst; the Commander of the 5th Finance in Manheim, Germany; and Chief Financial Services of ODSRM, Heidelberg, Germany; and then was assigned to the Controller of Defense Nuclear Agency (AFFRI) until retirement in 1984.

LTC Bayliss’s military education included Infantry OCS, Airborne School, Jungle Warfare Training, Finance Officer Advanced Course, Command and General Staff College. His formal education culminated with an Army funded Master of Business Administration from Indiana University.

His awards and decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Bronze Star, The Defense Meritorious Medal, The Army Meritorious Service Medal; The Army Commendation Medal (2nd award), the National Defense Service Medal, The Armed Forces Service Medal, Overseas Service Ribbon, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, Vietnam Cross (Gallantry with palms). In 2003, LTC Bayliss was recognized as a Distinguished Member of the Finance Regiment.

LTC has excelled in a second career of distinguished service in the field of financial management, accounting and contracting. Working as an analyst in support of the Department of the Navy and Southwest Research Institute as the government contract officer and accounting manager. He completed his professional employment with a myriad of volunteer activities, including teaching Vietnam amputees to ski, serving as Board Member of Southwest Research Institute Federal Credit Union and various Homeowners' Association Boards.