RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia National Guard Management Group proudly announced today that Capt. (Ret.) William G. Haneke will serve as the Virginia National Guard’s and Department of Military Affairs’ 4th Annual Military Ball Keynote Speaker held Sept. 18, 2021, at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott, Norfolk Virginia.
Haneke is a retired U.S. Army officer and veteran of the Vietnam War who now serves as a veteran and patient advocate. As part of his service, Haneke sits on the Board of Directors of the Richmond-based Families of the Wounded Fund which provides financial resources in support of family members of military service members who have either been wounded in combat operations or injured as a result of line-of-duty activities in support of combat operations.
Graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1966, Haneke received a commission as a Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army as an infantry officer. After initial training, he was deployed to Vietnam on July 1, 1968.
During his deployment, Haneke conducted multiple combat patrols encountering the North Vietnamese Army. In his descriptions, he recounts daily explosions, gunfire and several near-death encounters.
On November 13, 1968, Haneke was stationed in the southern province of Binh Thuan, Vietnam. He was pushing a 55-gallon drum of aviation fuel up a sandy hill when Haneke witnessed a North Vietnamese soldier detonate a mine. After the traumatic events of that day, Haneke fought through 200 surgical operations and a recovery lasting years.
Following Vietnam, Haneke spent the next 30 years in the medical field including earning a master’s degree in health care administration. He’s served in multiple hospitals’ emergency rooms, burn clinics, pediatric wards and cancer centers across the country. Being an amputee himself, he often volunteers to test prosthetic limbs, consult with healthcare providers on traumatic injuries and advises several Veterans hospitals on organizing amputee support groups.
After noticing more wounded veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq in Richmond’s McGuire Veterans Administration Hospital, Haneke and a group of Virginia veterans launched Families of the Wounded Fund, a non-profit that provides $7,500 grants to pay for lodging and incidental expenses for families while their veteran recovers at McGuire and Fort Belvoir. Since inception, the fund has helped over 700 families across the country.
Haneke is scheduled to speak at the Virginia National Guard and Department of Military Affairs 4th Annual Military Ball held Sept. 18, 2021, at the Waterside Marriott, Norfolk, Virginia. Registration for the ball is open and attendees may register at https://vngmg.org/dma-vdf-reg/.
For inquiries, please email contact@vngmg.org.
