William Angelo Dial

Portrait of William Angelo Dial Headstone Photograph

William A. Dial
Feb. 6, 1903
June 17, 1963

Texas Ranger
1921 - 1923
1931 ? 1933

Back of headstone

The Texas Ranger Prayer
O God, whose end is justice,
whose strength is all our stay,
be near and bless my mission
as I go forth today.
Let wisdom guide my actions,
let courage fill my heart
and help me Lord, in every hour
to do a Ranger?s part.
Protect when danger threatens,
sustain when trails are rough;
help me to keep my standard high
and smile at each rebuff.

When night comes down upon me,
I pray the Lord be nigh.
Whenever on lonely scout, or camped,
under the Texas sky.
Keep me, o God in line
and when my days shall end,
forgive my sins and take me in,
for Jesus sake, Amen.
Full Name: William Angelo Dial
Location: Section:Republic Hill, Section 2 (C2)
Row:K  Number:6
Reason for Eligibility: Governor's Proclamation; Texas Ranger 
Birth Date: February 7, 1903 
Died: June 17, 1963 
Burial Date: June 21, 1963 
 

DIAL, WILLIAM ANGELO (1903~1963) William Angelo Dial, Texas Ranger, was born February 7, 1903, in Greenville, Hunt County, Texas, to Joseph G. and Alma Hargett Dial. He served as a Texas Ranger from August 29, 1923, until July of 1924, where he was assigned to the border. Dial patrolled the Rio Grande on horseback looking for smugglers bringing contraband into Texas from Mexico.

After mustering out of the Rangers, Dial accepted the position as Chief of Police in Gladewater, Texas, where it was up to him to bring law and order to the oil boomtown. After leaving Gladewater, Dial re-enlisted in the Texas Rangers on November 1, 1931, and served until October 31, 1933, where he resigned before they became part of the newly created Texas Department of Public Safety.

After retiring from law enforcement, Dial settled in Victoria, Texas, where he became a state supervisor in the land department of the Tennessee Gas Transmission Company.

William Angelo Dial passed away on June 17, 1963, and because of his service to the State of Texas, Governor John Connally signed a proclamation granting his burial at the State Cemetery. Dial was buried four days later, close to one of his Ranger predecessors, William Alexander Anderson "Bigfoot" Wallace.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: State of Texas Adjutant General's Department "Warrant of Authority and Descriptive List"; "Enlistment, Oath of Service, and Descriptive Ranger Force", courtesy of the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, Waco, Texas; Proclamation by the Governor of the State of Texas, June 1963, "Texas Ranger Grave Marker Will Be Dedicated Today," Texarkana Gazette, Friday, July 7, 1967; "The 'Original' Ranger Trail," The Houston Chronicle Rotogravure Magazine, Sunday, December 15, 1957.

Additional Multimedia Files To Download:

#7280) Title:Texas Rangers
Source: Courtesy of Kevin Quattlebaum
Description: Two Texas Rangers talking with William Dial sitting on the Horse.

#7281) Title:Texas Rangers, Co. D
Source: Courtesy of Kevin Quattlebaum
Description: Scout Party, Co. D, Texas Rangers, May 1924 at Old Indian Crossing on the Rio Grande near Laredo. William Dial is the third from the left.

 

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