The story, as told by Col. James Moschgat, begins with his daily encounters with the janitor, “an unimpressive figure, one you could easily overlook during a hectic day at the U.S. Air Force Academy.”

That quiet man, going about his work, was Bill Crawford. He was

mopping and buffing floors, emptying trash cans, cleaning toilets, or just tidying up the mess 100 college-age kids can leave in a dormitory.

Sadly, and for many years, few of us gave him much notice, rendering little more than a passing nod or throwing a curt, “G’morning!” in his direction as we hurried off to our daily duties. –Col. James Moschgat, “A Janitor’s Ten Lessons in Leadership”

He did his job well, but he was shy and just “blended into the woodwork,”says Moschgat. That’s why few cadets noticed Mr. Crawford, except to exchange a friendly hello.

That changed one fall Saturday afternoon in 1976. I was reading a book about World War II and the tough Allied ground campaign in Italy, when I stumbled across an incredible story. On Sept. 13, 1943, a Private William Crawford from Colorado, assigned to the 36th Infantry Division, had been involved in some bloody fighting on Hill 424 near Altavilla, Italy.

The words on the page leapt out at me: “in the face of intense and overwhelming hostile fire … with no regard for personal safety … on his own initiative, Private Crawford single-handedly attacked fortified enemy positions.” It continued, “for conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty, the President of the United States …”

“Holy cow,” I said to my roommate, “you’re not going to believe this, but I think our janitor is a Medal of Honor winner.”

Col. Moschgat goes on to underscore the life lessons he learned–none of them earth-shattering but all of them rock-solid, worth taking to heart. Everyone deserves respect. Courtesy makes a difference. Leaders should be humble. Take your time to know your people. No Job is Beneath a Leader. (The last one reminds me of a story I read about General James Mattis, who pulled Christmas duty so one of his Marines could spend the holiday with family.)

And one lesson that Moschgat surely drew from his story about the janitor: “Anyone can be a hero.”

Bill Crawford was a janitor.  However, he was also a teacher, friend, role model and one great American hero.   Thanks, Mr. Crawford, for some valuable leadership lessons. –Col. Moschgat

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The citation for Pvt. Crawford’s Medal of Honor tells of his exceptional courage:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at risk of life above and beyond the call of duty in action with the enemy near Altavilla, Italy, 13 September 1943.

When Company I attacked an enemy-held position on Hill 424, the 3rd Platoon, in which Pvt. Crawford was a squad scout, attacked as base platoon for the company. After reaching the crest of the hill, the platoon was pinned down by intense enemy machine-gun and small-arms fire. Locating 1 of these guns, which was dug in on a terrace on his immediate front, Pvt. 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 machine-gun and killed 3 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, Pvt. Crawford again, in the face of intense fire, advanced directly to the front midway between 2 hostile machine-gun nests located on a higher terrace and emplaced in a small ravine. Moving first to the left, with a hand grenade he destroyed 1 gun emplacement and killed the crew; he then worked his way, under continuous fire, to the other and with 1 grenade and the use of his rifle, killed 1 enemy and forced the remainder to flee.

Seizing the enemy machine gun, he fired on the withdrawing Germans and facilitated his company’s advance.

–Medal of Honor citation. United States Army Center of Military History

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With many thanks to Tim Favero, who shared this story with me.