Seay Auditorium named after hero Published Feb. 18, 2009 By Peg Nigra U. S. Transportation Command History Office SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- On August 25, 1968, a young man not yet 20 years old died trying to protect others. The young man from Alabama was Army Sgt. William Wayne Seay of the 62nd Transportation Company (Medium Truck), 7th Transportation Battalion, 48th Transportation Group. On that day in August he was one of many drivers in a convoy from Long Binh to Tay Ninh in South Vietnam. A North Vietnamese battalion ambushed the convoy near Ap Nhi. Under intense enemy fire, Sergeant Seay and the others fought back. Sergeant Seay took cover behind a vehicle loaded with high explosive ammunition and opened fire as the enemy approached, killing two of them. During the course of the battle he killed a sniper and pitched back enemy hand grenades thrown near his position. With his right hand wounded and suffering from blood loss, he stood up and using only his left hand to fire his rifle, killed three enemy soldiers preparing to fire on his comrades. According to the citation of the Congressional Medal of Honor awarded to Sergeant Seay posthumously on April 7, 1970, "As a result of his heroic action, Sergeant Seay was mortally wounded by a sniper's bullet. Sergeant Seay, by his gallantry in action at the cost of his life, has reflected great credit upon himself, his unit, and the U.S. Army." The United States Trasnportation Command has honored this young transporter by naming its auditorium after him. The Seay Auditorium has stadium seating that can accommodate approximately 250 people. On display inside the auditorium are the flags and emblems for the services, Department of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and USTRANSCOM and its components. The Seay's theater-like atmosphere lends elegance and dignity to the many ceremonies held there each year. Others have named military parade fields, tugboats, officers' barracks, a training center and a shopping mall after Sergeant William W. Seay. The Navy christened a large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ship the USNS Seay. The Seay is one of 11 surge sealift ships operated by the Military Sealift Command to move cargo in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. There is a dedication display near the entrance to the auditorium which consists of Sergeant Seay's photo, Medal of Honor citation, a rubbing of his name from the Vietnam Memorial Wall, a photo and description of the USNS Seay and an Army Transportation Corps print honoring the convoys and drivers of the Vietnam War. As for how to pronounce his name, is it "say" or "see" or even "shay"? According to a source who was at the christening of the USNS Seay in 1998, Sergeant Seay's mother told former USTRANSCOM commander Gen. Walter Kross, who had pronounced it as "Say," that "we've always pronounced it as 'See.'" It doesn't really matter how you pronounce his name as long as you remember the man and his sacrifice.