‘Huge Heart’: This Vietnam Veteran is Now a Beloved School Bus Driver

Bill Goodbread volunteered for the Marines at the height of the Vietnam War, shipping out in 1967 as a combat engineer attached to the infantry. In country, he joined teams dropped into remote areas to clear jungle to establish helicopter landing zones and fire bases.

Now, at 80 years old, he has a different mission: driving children to school safely each day, maintaining discipline on his bus but also taking care of his young passengers, learning about them and keeping a kindly eye out for their welfare.

Known as “Mr. Bill,” he’s been a school bus driver in St. Louis for 15 years, while also acting as principal caregiver for his wife, who has a chronic illness.

‘A challenge I treasure’

“When you pull out of the parking lot you are the captain of that yellow ship with wheels on it,” Goodread told AARP. “Some people find that a challenge, but I enjoyed it because I had experience leading older men, not school children, and as a result of my Marine Corps training and my discipline, I run a pretty tight ship on the bus.”

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Instilling a sense of order is part of the joy of his job. He believes in creating a structured, positive environment for students who might be having some struggles. “I need to carefully drive the bus through traffic but also monitor the behavior of the 45 or 50 kids who are behind me,” he explained.

“I view that as a good challenge, one that I gladly accept. Some of the kids I haul on the bus, I know a single parent or grandma is bringing them up. It’s a challenge that I treasure to set a good example, to lead from the front.”

After getting to know who the children are, Goodbread makes sure he finds out who their parents are and which is their bus stop. He notices if there’s something concerning or out of the ordinary and will then check in with teachers or the principal.  

‘Something for the good guys’

After college, Goodbread decided to serve his country because he wanted to fight communism overseas rather than risking it reaching American shores. He chose the Marines because he thought they were the best and was commissioned as a second lieutenant after completing officer training at Quantico.

He served on active duty for three years, including 13 months in Vietnam, and another nine years in the reserves as a civil affairs officer. Later in his time in Vietnam, where he was at Khe Sanh, just south of the demilitarized zone, he went into villages with medics to administer vaccines and other treatment.

“It was rewarding,” he recalled. “It was nice to do something for the good guys.”