by I learned this morning from his wife that Dr. Bill Chachkes had passed away yesterday. He had been in ill health for a number of years.
Bill was a gun rights advocate, a podcaster, a retired teacher from the NYC schools, a sports journalist, and a Blackhawk helicopter pilot for the Army’s Special Operations Command. His podcast, Firearms Chat, was part of the Self Defense Radio Network. You can hear how he and the late Greg Hutton started their podcast here.
I first met Bill at the 2018 SHOT Show. He had reserved a room to record podcast episodes. I was invited to join Bill and Greg for an interview on Firearms Chat. We talked about a lot of things and, to be honest, I can’t remember exactly what. I do know that the Complementary Spouse and I saw him again many times that week. He was having some issues with his leg due to diabetes and she took a look at it for him.
I next met Bill along with his wife Annrose at AMM-Con and the 2019 Gun Rights Policy Conference held in Phoenix. I had been a guest on his show a couple of times by then. Being a guest on his show was always a fun thing.
You may remember the issues that I had with Google and their Blogger platform in 2019. When I switched to my own domain and WordPress, it was thanks to Bill that I was hooked up with Patriot Hosting. He introduced me to Kyle and the rest is history. I will be forever grateful that he stepped up and made that introduction.
Bill was a mensch to use a Yiddish word in honor of his Jewish heritage. He was a man of honor and integrity, he was a patriot both in and out of uniform, and he stood up for what was right and opposed that which was wrong.
I am proud to be able to have called him a friend and I shall miss him.
Note: I don’t know whether there will be a memorial service or funeral. If I hear anything, I will post it as an update here.
May he rest in peace.