Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: The janitor who was a hero

Friday, April 12, 2002 | 9:05 a.m.

THE BULLSEYE NEWSPAPER of Nellis Air Force Base had a story three months ago that caught my attention. The story was written by Col. James Moschgat, 12th Operations Group, Commander. The author used it as a lesson for people taking over positions of leadership.

The subject of the story was William "Bill" Crawford who was the squadron janitor at the Air Force Academy when the author was a cadet. Bill was a man who did his work efficiently and quietly and "blended into the woodwork."

Moschgat described the janitor as follows: "Maybe it was his physical appearance that made him disappear into the background. Bill didn't move very quickly. You could say he even shuffled a bit, as if he suffered from some sort of injury. His gray hair and wrinkled face made him appear ancient to a group of young cadets. And his crooked smile, well, it looked a little funny. Face it; Bill was an old man working in a young person's world. What did he have to offer us on a personal level?"

This all changed one day when Moschgat was looking at a book about World War II and the combat that took place in Italy. That's when he read about a Private William Crawford from Colorado who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his heroic actions near Altavilla, Italy, 13 September, 1943.

The official citation tells us in part: "Private Crawford, without orders and on his own initiative, moved over the hill under enemy fire to a point within a few yards of the gun emplacement and single handedly destroyed the machinegun and killed three of the crew with a hand grenade, thus enabling his platoon to continue its advance. When the platoon, after reaching the crest, was once more delayed by enemy fire, Private Crawford again, in the face of intense fire, advanced directly to the front midway between two hostile machinegun nests located on a higher terrace and emplaced in a small ravine. Moving first to the left, with a hand grenade he destroyed one gun emplacement and killed the crew; he then worked his way, under continuous fire, to the other and with one grenade and the use of his rifle, killed one enemy and forced the remainder to flee. Seiz ing the enemy machinegun, he fired on the withdrawing Germans and facilitated his company's advance."

Moschgat goes on to tell how different the janitor now appeared to the cadets. They became more conscious of any mess that might be left behind for Bill to clean up. Yes, they now began to treat him as one of their teammates. He also writes about how the janitor changed after that day of discovery in 1976, "he seemed to move with more purpose, his shoulders didn't seem to be as stooped, he met our greetings with a direct gaze and a stronger 'good morning' in return ..."

The story about Bill Crawford is fascinating and its author uses it for lessons in leadership. All of these lessons should be learned and used by people in every walk of life and the colonel gives several examples including:

Everyone deserves respect

Because we hung the "janitor" label on Mr. Crawford, we often wrongly treated him with less respect than others around us. He deserved much more, and not just because he was a Medal of Honor winner. Bill deserved respect because he was a janitor, walked among us, and was a part of our team.

No job is beneath a leader

If Bill Crawford, a Medal of Honor winner, could clean latrines and smile, is there a job beneath your dignity? Think about it.

Take time to know your people

Life in the military is hectic, but that's no excuse for not knowing the people you work for and with. For years a hero walked among us at the Academy and we never knew it. Who are the heroes that walk in your midst?

The lessons taught by Moschgat and Crawford apply to all of us and they set the example of how we should treat each other on the job, in the street and at home.

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