HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 45
(By Delegates Wooton, Moye, Susman, Mahan and Sumner)
Commemorating the passing of William Henry File, Jr., gentleman,
sailor, attorney, public servant, and a great asset to his
country and his faith.
Whereas, William Henry File, Jr. was a U. S. Navy Veteran of
World War II, serving as an officer from 1942 to 1945. He first
served aborad the USS Calvert APA 32 as a boat officer and
participated in the invasion of Sicily. He participated in the D-
Day Invasion of Normandy, being in command of twelve rocket-
launching boats in the first wave at Omaha Red Beach. He later
became a Commanding Officer of LCSL3180, an amphibious craft which
he commissioned in Boston, took through the Panama Canal and which
saw combat in the Pacific, including the invasion of Okinawa, the
largest amphibious assault in the Pacific theater, where his ship
shot down an attacking Kamikaze plane, being one of the last U. S.
ships to do so. He was awarded a Silver Star and a Legion of Merit.
He retired from the United States Naval Reserve with the rank of
Commander; and
Whereas, William Henry File, Jr. joined his father and his
uncle, Ashton File, in the Beckley law firm of File and File in 1937 and, except for his service in World War II, practiced law
continuously with that firm, now known as File Payne Scherer & File
PLLC, for more than sixty-five years. He was proud to be the
longest practicing member of that firm, which has served the
Beckley community for more than one hundred years. His law partners
have included his three sons and his son-in-law, E. M. Payne III.
He was still of counsel to that firm at the time of his death. He
also served as city attorney for the city of Beckley, and was a
fellow of the American Trial Lawyers and the West Virginia Bar
Foundation; and
Whereas, William Henry File, Jr. graduated in 1930 from Woodrow
Wilson High School, was a 1934 graduate of Lynchburg College and a
1937 graduate of the University of Virginia Law School, where he
was a member of the Law Review and the Raven Society; and
Whereas, William Henry File, Jr. served as a member of the West
Virginia House of Delegates from 1947-1951, serving one term as
majority leader; and
Whereas, Mr. File was a director of the Beckley Federal Savings
& Loan Board of Directors and the Acme Limestone Company Board of
Directors, and as a director and officer of the Bank of Raleigh,
Raleigh Bankshares and Horizon Bancorp; and
Whereas, Mr. File was a life-long member of the First Christian
Church, Courthouse Square, Beckley where he taught Sunday School
and was a deacon, a trustee and a former chairman of the board; and
Whereas, The passing of William Henry File, Jr. should not go
unnoticed; therefore, be it
Resolved by the House of Delegates:
That regret is hereby expressed by the members at the passing
on of one of their own former members, William Henry File, Jr.,
lawyer, sailor, public servant and beloved gentleman who touched
many lives for the better and above all made the world a better
place; and, be it
Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates
forward a certified copy of this resolution to the family of
William Henry File, Jr. who have suffered a great loss, including
his daughter, Susan File Payne and her husband, E. M. "Ned" Payne
III; his son, William H. File III; his son, Robert N. File and his
wife, Ellen Lilly File; his son, John Lanier File and his wife, Lee
Dalton File; the Mayor of the city of Beckley; and the pastor of
the First Christian Church of Beckley.
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