Bill Beaupre was born in Lynn, Massachusetts in 1934. He is one of 6 children, five boys and one girl. His father was an electrician and his mother stayed home to care for the family.

Two weeks after Bill turned 17, he joined the Navy. He served on the same ship as his older brother and all his brothers would at least attempt to join the military. All the Beaupre brothers were trying to get into the war in Korea at the time, however, not a single one arrived to war. Bill says they were all eager to go kill the enemy due to World War II occurring in his adolescence and frequently mentions war books and movies that he loves.

Beaupre, along with his older brother, served on the USS Yellowstone, a ship assigned to refuel vessels and to help people abroad. Beaupre went to nearly every country in the Mediterranean, staying for anywhere between 3-7 days. Beaupre holds going to these countries in high regard. He says they would “spend every cent” and laughs recounting about good times.

However, when Beaupre talks about the Europe he encountered after World War II, he presents a picture of a war ravaged region. Arriving in Europe only 6 years after the end of WWII Bills says that “[you] could feel [the aftermath] when you went there.” He remembers Greece as being the hardest hit. He recounts seeing two kids fight over a sandwich that had been stepped on, “they would’ve killed each other for that sandwich.”

After his service, he returned home and married his wife of nearly 60 years. Beaupre went to college to work on electronics, a passion he developed through fixing Navy technology. When small electronic businesses were bought out, he switched careers to court stenographer which he described as “one hell of a profession.”

Beaupre called his time in the Navy “the best four years of his life [until] I got married.” As for his thoughts on war he quotes an old saying that “the navy is a master plan by Jesus to be carried out by idiots.” He says this is “so damn true.”