Honoring Our Veterans: Dr. William (Bill) McCullough

William (Bill) McCullough, MD

Assistant Professor; Pediatric Division Director
Navy | 1987 – 2014

A Pediatric Radiologist in the UVA Department of Radiology and Medical Imaging, Dr. McCullough joined the faculty in the summer of 2015 after a long career in the US Navy. A member of the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (N.R.O.T.C.) at Purdue University as an undergrad, he was commissioned upon graduation and trained as a student Naval Flight Officer in Pensacola FL and Sacramento, CA, earning his wings in March 1989. He spent the next several years flying the P-3 Orion, hunting Soviet submarines at the end of the cold war, deploying to the Philippines, Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean, and Adak Alaska in the Aleutian Islands. He than reported to the N.R.O.T.C. unit at Virginia Tech as an Assistant Professor of Naval Science.

In 1995, Dr. McCullough left the Navy to attend Northwestern University Medical School. Upon graduation, he returned to active duty service, first training in pediatrics and then practicing at the Naval Air Station in Lemoore, CA and the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, MD. As a Navy pediatrician, he cared for the children of active duty and retired military personnel. He then completed a second residency in diagnostic radiology and spent four years assigned as the solo radiologist at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Sigonella, Italy on the island of Sicily. In the summer of 2014, he retired from the Navy after more than 23 years of active duty service. He completed a fellowship in pediatric radiology at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia before coming to Charlottesville.

When asked about his Navy career, Dr. McCullough said, “Navy life is not for everyone one, but we would not trade it for anything. It was not always easy. We moved a lot—my wife and I have had 9 homes together. Our twins, who are seniors, are in their third high school. Our daughter attended 3 middle schools, but we had the opportunity to meet amazing people along the way and visit and live in amazing places. Our children have been to 20 countries and have friends all over the world. Those experiences, both the fun and the difficult, have brought us closer together as a family. Our children are who they are today because they grew up in the Navy.”

 

This article is part of the Department of Radiology’s Veteran’s Day series “A Tribute to Our Veterans”, honoring the men and women in our department who have served. To see the entire series, please click here.