Marine Corps League · Modesto, California
Marine Corps League
Bill King Detachment #019
Veterans · Community · Semper Fidelis
For more than half a century, Marines in the Modesto area have carried the traditions of the Corps into a new mission: serving fellow Marines, veterans, families, and the community.
Bill King Detachment #019 is the Modesto-area detachment of the Marine Corps League. Our members gather in fellowship, support veterans and their families, participate in community service and patriotic observances, and preserve the traditions and values of the United States Marine Corps.
The detachment welcomes eligible Marines and FMF Navy Corpsmen, along with associate members who share our commitment to service and the Marine Corps League mission.
First Saturday of every month
10:00 a.m. (1000 hours)
Stanislaus Veterans Center
3500 Coffee Rd #19
Modesto, CA 95357
The roots of Detachment #019 reach back to the fall of 1975, when a group of Modesto-area Marines organized a new Marine Corps League detachment during the Marine Corps' bicentennial year. In January 1976, The Modesto Bee reported that the newly formed 35-member detachment was preparing to receive its first charter.
Among those first officers was William F. “Bill” King, who served as Adjutant-Paymaster and was listed as a local contact for Marines interested in joining. King would later serve the detachment as Commandant and Paymaster, becoming one of the central figures in its early history and in the broader veterans community of Stanislaus County.
The original detachment brought together Marines from across the Modesto area around the same ideals that continue to guide the League today: camaraderie, service, care for veterans and their families, and preservation of Marine Corps traditions.
Over the decades, Detachment #019 has remained part of the civic and veteran life of the region through ceremonies, parades, veteran advocacy, community service, and fellowship. The detachment's history is not simply a record of meetings and offices held; it is a continuing story of Marines serving after the uniform comes off.
Modesto-area Marines organize a new Marine Corps League detachment.
The 35-member detachment prepares to receive its first charter, with Bill King serving as Adjutant-Paymaster.
Bill King helps revive Modesto's Veterans Day Parade after learning the city had not held one since 1945.
Bill King dies after a lifetime of Marine Corps service and veterans advocacy.
Detachment #019 carries forward that tradition of fellowship, remembrance, advocacy, and service.
Bill King's connection to Detachment #019 began at its founding. He was not merely the man whose name would later identify the detachment; he was one of the Marines who helped build it. In 1976 he served as the new organization's Adjutant-Paymaster, and in later years served as Commandant and Paymaster.
King was a 22-year Marine and a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War. A native of Dinuba, California, he took part in the invasion of Guam during World War II and was shot in the chest shortly after coming ashore. He reenlisted in 1947 and returned to combat during the Korean War, later recalling the bitter cold, prolonged fighting, and severe shortages faced by Marines there.
After Korea, King continued his Marine Corps career as a recruiter, serving in Hawaii, Texas, and eventually Modesto. Retirement from active service did not end his service to others. He became a familiar figure at local Memorial Day and Veterans Day observances and a determined advocate for veterans from every generation.
That advocacy was especially visible in his support for Vietnam veterans. At a time when many returning Vietnam veterans felt unwelcome or overlooked, King challenged established veterans organizations to embrace them as fellow veterans. He also pressed for greater recognition of Korean War veterans and those still listed as missing.
In 1978, after discovering that Modesto had not held a Veterans Day Parade since 1945, King helped bring the tradition back. The revived parade became another expression of the cause that defined much of his life: ensuring that military service and sacrifice were remembered by the community.
Bill King died on October 25, 1994, at the age of 69. His legacy lives not simply in the name of Detachment #019, but in the example he left behind: a Marine's obligation to serve does not end when active duty does. Today, Bill King Detachment #019 continues that tradition through fellowship, remembrance, advocacy, and service to veterans and the community.