Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL) Brian Robert Bill was born on August 23, 1979, and grew up in Stamford, Connecticut. He was an Eagle Scout, an ice hockey standout and a gifted student who graduated from Trinity Catholic High School in 1997. He went on to Norwich University in Vermont, where he swam for the university, joined its Mountain Cold Weather Rescue unit and earned a bachelor of science in electrical engineering in 2001.
Brian seemed able to master anything he attempted. He was an accomplished mountaineer who summited Aconcagua in Argentina and Mount Elbrus in Russia, a skier, a skydiver, a fly fisherman, a triathlete and a marathon runner. He held a commercial pilot’s license, taught himself to play the piano and the guitar, became fluent in French and was studying Russian. He was pursuing a master’s degree with coursework at Columbia University, and he hoped one day to summit the highest peaks on every continent and to become an astronaut. No one who knew him doubted that he could.
In July 2001 Brian enlisted in the Navy to pursue his dream of becoming a SEAL. He graduated from Naval Aviation Technical Training in Pensacola, Florida, in November 2001 and from Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training in Coronado, California, in November 2002. In June 2003 he joined SEAL Team 4 on the East Coast, and he was later selected for the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. Over the next eight years he deployed four times to Iraq and four times to Afghanistan.
On August 6, 2011, Brian was among the SEALs and soldiers aboard a CH-47 Chinook helicopter, call sign Extortion 17, on a nighttime mission in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, when enemy fighters shot it down, killing all on board. Thirty Americans died, the greatest single loss of life in the history of Naval Special Warfare. Brian was 31 years old.
Brian’s decorations include four Bronze Star Medals, one with Combat “V” for valor, the Purple Heart, the Joint Service Commendation Medal with Combat “V,” the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, the Combat Action Ribbon, the Presidential Unit Citation, the Navy Unit Commendation, the Afghanistan and Iraq Campaign Medals and the Rifle and Pistol Expert Medals.
“We mourn his life of unfulfilled dreams,” his family said. “Brian was a remarkably gifted, thoughtful and compassionate young man. We are incredibly proud of him. He loved life, he loved a challenge and he was passionate about being a SEAL.” His family established the Brian Bill Foundation in his memory, and Norwich University honors him each year with the Brian R. Bill Memorial Challenge. He is survived by his mother and stepfather, Patricia and Dr. Michael Parry; his father, Scott Bill; his grandmother, Betty Hardiman; his brothers, Christian and Morgan; his sisters, Amy Kutney, Andrea Sholes, Kerry Welch and Tessa Bill; and many aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins.
Brian was an Eagle Scout, Norwich University engineering graduate, skilled pilot, mountaineer and elite Navy SEAL who gave his life aboard Extortion 17 in Wardak Province.
Naval Special Warfare Development Group
Sources
- Family-provided records on file with MVF: Brian Bill bio
- State of Connecticut Wall of Honor: Brian R. Bill
- The Brian Bill Foundation: Life and times of Brian Bill
- National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum: Brian Robert Bill
- Norwich University: Brian R. Bill ’01 Memorial Challenge
