July 9, 2025
The Passing of CAPT Bill Graves, USN (Ret.)
Dear USNPAA Members,
We are very saddened to report the recent passing of Captain Bill Graves. Bill was one of those PAOs who helped establish and then fortify the roots of the Navy public affairs community with his extraordinary professionalism.
Captain Graves served his country in uniform for 24 years. This is included two tours of duty in Vietnam and duty in the Pacific Fleet. Captain Graves is most well known for the imprint he made in representing the U.S. Navy in Hollywood. Working in uniform at NAVINFO Los Angeles and then as a consultant to the film industry, Bill worked on such films as The Winds of War, An Officer and a Gentleman, The Final Countdown and Gray Lady Down. In all his work, he represented the Navy in an extraordinary light. We have all benefited from his efforts.
After his retirement, Bill became a travel writer and became well known for covering the Western U.S. in his motor home. He wrote a travel column, America’s Outback, that appeared in a monthly travel magazine. Bill’s work was featured in several major newspapers around the country. Bill also wrote a book about his journeys through the back roads and small Western towns as he traveled in his motor home—On the Back Roads: Discovering Small Towns of America.
Bill Graves clearly left a mark on the Navy’s public affairs community as he served as a mentor and positive influence to so many of us. The respect our community commands stems in large part to the efforts of professionals such as Bill Graves.
Please remember Bill and his family.
Sincerely,
Dick Thompson
USNPAA Membership
More Notes
The Passing of CAPT Bill Graves, USN (Ret.)
Dear USNPAA Members,
We are very saddened to report the recent passing of Captain Bill Graves. Bill was one of those PAOs who helped establish and then fortify the roots of the Navy public affairs community with his extraordinary professionalism.
Captain Graves served his country in uniform for 24 years. This is included two tours of duty in Vietnam and duty in the Pacific Fleet. Captain Graves is most well known for the imprint he made in representing the U.S. Navy in Hollywood. Working in uniform at NAVINFO Los Angeles and then as a consultant to the film industry, Bill worked on such films as The Winds of War, An Officer and a Gentleman, The Final Countdown and Gray Lady Down. In all his work, he represented the Navy in an extraordinary light. We have all benefited from his efforts.
After his retirement, Bill became a travel writer and became well known for covering the Western U.S. in his motor home. He wrote a travel column, America’s Outback, that appeared in a monthly travel magazine. Bill’s work was featured in several major newspapers around the country. Bill also wrote a book about his journeys through the back roads and small Western towns as he traveled in his motor home—On the Back Roads: Discovering Small Towns of America.
Bill Graves clearly left a mark on the Navy’s public affairs community as he served as a mentor and positive influence to so many of us. The respect our community commands stems in large part to the efforts of professionals such as Bill Graves.
Please remember Bill and his family.
Sincerely,
Dick Thompson
USNPAA Membership
More Notes