William (Billy) Cushley was born in Bristol, England on July 28, 1985, the son of Errol Cushley and Elaine Cushley. Just a few months after William’s birth, the family moved to Sarnia, residing there from 1977 until 1992. They would later move to Sombra and eventually settle in Port Lambton, Ontario. William, the only son, had three sisters: Lisa (born Aug 1, 1967); Tonia (born Oct 10, 1970); and Amanda (born May 26, 1982). William was a very active child. He enjoyed skateboarding, BMX biking, running, and road hockey as well as playing a few seasons of organized hockey and spending some time in the Cubs where his mother Elaine was one of the leaders. William loved to draw but, when others suggested he consider art school, William insisted art was only a hobby and a way to relax. As he got older, he enjoyed fishing and swimming with friends in the St.Clair River by his family home. William first attended St. Benedict’s Elementary School in Sarnia for three years. After his family moved, he would continue his schooling and graduate from Sacred Heart Elementary School in Port Lambton, and then Wallaceburg District Secondary School. Having a great interest in history, William expressed his desire in his mid-teens to join the military, specifically the infantry. His father Errol suggested going to university first, which would allow him to enter the military in the officer stream. William, however, wasn’t interested and told his father he wanted to go directly into the army like everyone else and work his way up.
A number of people in Williams’s life were paramount in influencing him to choose the military as a career. William’s maternal grandfather, Ernest Gordon Phillips, was a Private during the Second World War with the British Army “Glorious” Gloucestershire Regiment. He would serve in Belgium, Holland, Germany, and France, including, landing on the beaches of Normandy on D-Day. William’s paternal grandfather, William Henry Cushley, also served during World War II, and beyond. He was a Chief Petty Officer with the British Royal Navy and would serve from 1938 until 1963, a career which included tours of duty in the Atlantic, the Africa Campaign, the Italian Campaign and in the Arctic. William’s father, Errol Cushley, served as an Efficient Deck Hand, in the British Merchant Navy from early in 1963 until the end of 1966. He would serve in Cypress in 1963 as well as in the Atlantic. Another major influence on William was his cousin, James Moloney. Born in 1977, James joined the British military in September of 1993 at the age of sixteen. James Moloney would become a member of the British Army, Royal Engineers, 59th Independent Commando Squadron, serving for 14 years and rising to the rank of Corporal. James would serve in Northern Ireland (instructor at Lympstone, 2001-02); Afghanistan (2002); with the first soldiers in Basra, Iraq (2003); and as an instructor at the training depot in Chatham, England (2003-2007). Though none of these individuals in William’s life encouraged him to join the military, growing up with them and hearing of their experiences, were undoubtedly significant factors in William’s decision to follow in their footsteps.
After graduating from Wallaceburg District Secondary, he submitted his application for the Canadian Forces at a recruitment office in Chatham. So anxious was he to get his army career underway that William was eventually asked by the military recruiters to refrain from calling and emailing to inquire about the status of his application. Frustrated with the delay in hearing a response, William crossed into the U.S. with the intention of joining the U.S. Marines. To his disappointment, however, William was told that the Marines didn’t take Canadians and that he should go home and join his own army. Being a dual British-Canadian citizen, William then contacted the Royal Marines in the United Kingdom and was offered a spot in their 42-week basic training program. Upon hearing this, the Canadian Forces quickly offered him a spot in their basic training program.
William joined the Canadian Army, excelling at basic training at Saint-Jean, Quebec, and later at Battle School, thriving in the tightly structured environment of the military. He was assigned as a member of the Royal Canadian Regiment, 1st Battalion, based at CFB Petawawa. Almost immediately he indicated his interest in going to Afghanistan. He knew that a tour of duty would help him to achieve his goal of having a career: either with the Joint Task Force 2, an elite special operations team of the Canadian Forces; with a new marine commando unit, similar to the U.S. Navy Seals; or with a special rapid response border unit of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
Aside from helping him to achieve his desired career with special forces, William had another motive for stepping into a combat zone. Not long before he went overseas, he had a heart-to-heart discussion with his father Errol. William explained that he wasn’t going overseas so that Afghan girls could go to school. Rather, he wanted to do his part to ensure that Afghans had the opportunity to make that choice without someone telling them they couldn’t, as had been the case for decades. He wanted them to have the same opportunities that we have here in Canada. Will also told his father that he was afraid, not of the enemy, but of being a coward under fire. Will was worried about getting his army pals killed if he lost his nerve and turned tail during a firefight. Errol told Will that he’d never know for sure until he found himself in that situation, but he advised his son to think back to his training. Shortly before leaving for Afghanistan, William would give his father Errol two breast patches from his uniform with the name CUSHLEY embossed on them. Once in Afghanistan, Will’s fears were soon put to the test. It turned out his fears were completely unfounded. Private Cushely was cool, calm and professional under fire. Just a week before he was killed, William demonstrated a textbook performance as a fill-in gunner aboard a light armoured vehicle (LAV).
William was home for the Port Lambton Gala Days celebration in July 2006, where he celebrated his 21st birthday. Less than two months later, having been overseas for only one month, William would lose his life in Afghanistan. On the morning of Sunday, September 3, 2006, father Errol was out training on the backroads not far from his home in Port Lambton, preparing for a month-long hike in Spain that he and Elaine were about to undertake. Elaine was tired that morning and had opted to stay home. Partway through the training session, Errol heard a car slowly approaching on the country road behind him. Behind the wheel was a neighbour from town, who tearfully informed Errol that a military officer and chaplain were waiting back at home. As Errol climbed into his neighbour’s car on that Sunday morning, he knew the military would show up at your doorstep for only one reason.
‘On September 3, 2006, William Cushley would lose his life alongside three other Canadian soldiers in a fierce gun battle with Taliban insurgents, approximately 15 kilometers west of Kandahar City. It happened in the volatile Panjwayi district, where a massive Canadian-led offensive called Operation Medusa was in its early stages of trying to put the Taliban-held region under Afghan government control. NATO’s aim was to remove armed militants from the volatile Panjwayi and Zhari district region so that displaced villagers could return to their homes and re-establish their livelihoods without living in constant fear of the Taliban. On that September 3rd day, the Canadians had been ordered to advance into an area where the Taliban insurgents had faced a massive artillery and aerial bombardment. Unknown to the Canadians, they were severely outnumbered, as 1200 Taliban fighters waited in ambush. Sixty-two members of Number 7 Platoon never had a chance and, miraculously, not all were killed. Private Cushley would lose his life in the ambush, along with three other Canadian soldiers in a chaotic and bloody battle that ensued. Six other Canadian soldiers were wounded in the attack. Military analysts would call this period some of the fiercest combat Canadian troops had seen since the Korean War.
Along with twenty-one year old Private William Cushley, also killed were Warrant Officers Frank R. Mellish, 38, and Richard F. Nolan, 39, and Sergeant Shane Stachnik, 30. Private Mark Graham died the following day in a friendly fire incident. In a solemn ramp ceremony at Kandahar airfield, approximately 800 Canadian soldiers and 100 from other countries bid farewell to their fallen comrades. While Private Cushley’s and four other flag-draped coffins were carried onto a C-130 Hercules aircraft, a piper played a mournful melody. William was the first Lambton County resident killed in action since the Korean War. Twenty-one year old William Cushley’s body was returned home to Canada, along with the four other Canadian fallen. All five men had gone over to Afghanistan together, and all five returned home together.
Nearly two thousand people paid their respects during the two-day visitation period at Sacred Heart Church, Port Lambton. Over 500 people attended his funeral at Sacred Heart Church on September 13, 2006. On the day of the funeral, much of the town was closed off, with EMS vehicles and fire trucks blocking the streets. A bus load of troops had arrived and proceeded to march on all four roads surrounding the jam-packed church. The overflow area was also full and a screen had been set-up outside for people to watch the service from there. American servicemen were in attendance and, on bended knee, presented Will’s mother Elaine with an American flag, the first presented to a Canadian since the Korean War. As the procession passed by Sacred Heart Elementary School, from which he had graduated only seven years before, the entire student body lined up on the curb, most dressed in red, all wearing arm bands that read ‘Thank you Will’. Most waved Canadian flags or tossed flowers. Other than a few muffled sobs, the 145 youngsters stood silently as the procession, which was more than 100 metres long, passed by. Will’s full military funeral concluded with a graveside service of three volleys of fire from soldiers, a bagpiper, then a trumpeter sounding the “Last Post.” William Cushley is buried in McDonald Memorial Cemetery, Port Lambton, Ontario. On his headstone are inscribed the words, Private William Cushley, 1st Battalion, The Royal Canadian Regiment, died on September 3, 2006 fighting against Taliban insurgents near Kandahar City, Afghanistan. Private Cushley fought to bring human rights and democratic values to an oppressed people. He wanted to make a difference in this world and he died doing so.
Things will never be the same for the Cushley family. William’s youngest sister, Amanda, felt the strong desire to go to Afghanistan and did so one year after his death. She would serve with the Canadian Forces Personnel Agency (CFPSA). Amanda would do three tours in Afghanistan, one in Dubai (Camp Mirage) and one in Cypress. Her last tour was at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan when it was closed upon Canada’s withdrawal from its misson there. His mother Elaine points out that someone will always be missing from family events and festive occasions. But she says they’ve come to terms with the fact that they still need to live life; and that’s exactly how William would want it. Elaine says her son is with them everyday and everywhere. She spends time talking with William in his basement bedroom where the walls are adorned with pictures, military certificates and mementos. She also visits the nearby cemetery often, placing flowers and putting up balloons for his birthday, something that Errol says with a chuckle, would surely cause William to roll his eyes. Elaine says she grew up not really knowing much about Remembrance Day and not paying a lot of attention to veterans. The Afghan mission was a major “wake-up call.” She says our war heroes, past and present, should never be forgotten, and thinks children need to understand that freedom has a price–one that the Cushley family will pay for the rest of their lives. The freedom we enjoy now, says Elaine, is because of our heroic veterans and war dead who gave so much.
On December 4, 2010, the sixty-two members of Number 7 Platoon were given a prestigious award for gallantry. The Governor General of Canada awarded the Commander-in-Chief’s Unit Commendation to the men and women of the First Battalion, the Royal Canadian Regiment, Battle Group 3-06. The citation reads, For courageous and professional execution of duty in Afghanistan during August and September 2006 that prevented the capture of Kandahar City by insurgents. William Cushley would also receive the Citation: Sacrifice Medal (posthumously).
Following their son’s death, William’s parents received letters he’d written for delivery only if he fell in battle. The letter to his mother harkened back to a bet that the two had placed as Will climbed aboard a bus bound for the airport to Afghanistan. As he boarded a bus to CFB Trenton, Elaine bet her son $50 that she wouldn’t cry when they parted. Moments after boarding, Will got back off the bus, picked up his mother in a tight embrace and gave her one last kiss before departing. In doing so, Will won their wager of $50. The last line of William’s final letter to his mother reads, Do not weep too much. I will always be with you in heart and spirit! Love always & forever, Will.
P.S. You can keep the $50! LOL
William Cushley is remembered as a courageous man and a proud soldier who was devoted to his country. Though he was a strapping young soldier when he died, his mother Elaine Cushley says she will always see her son as a boy. “I miss cuddling him,” she said. “Every time I close my eyes I see his face and he is always smiling. He was always fun, a dry sense of humour that boy.”
SOURCES: D, E, I, L, N, 2D, 3D, r