WILL’S CHILDHOOD DREAMS FLOURISHED AT THIS FIELd.

Will’s baseball dreams came to life at this field. He was an all-star for the Roosevelt-University-Green Lake (RUG) Little League every year from 1998 until 2003. Will went on to play varsity baseball for Roosevelt High School, earning all-KingCo Conference honors.

An extraordinary Marine who touched many. 

Will joined the Marine Corps in 2007, six months after graduating from Roosevelt High School. He was an extraordinary Marine, becoming, at 22, one of the youngest sergeants in the Corps. 

In his five years of duty, he served four combat tours to Afghanistan and deployed with a United Nations force bringing aid supplies to Burmese refugees. Among his many decorations was a Bronze Star Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device for valor, earned in part for leading his squad through a heavy firefight without losing a Marine. 

On Jan. 31, 2012, while Will’s squad was on a foot patrol, he went ahead of his Marines to check for improvised explosive devices, but triggered the one that killed him.

His death garnered national and international attention, largely as a result of the “in case of death” letter he wrote to his family.

An embedded journalist who accompanied Will’s squad wrote after Will’s death: “there is no doubt in my mind that his cold competence, his charisma and cool under fire, his wisdom so beyond his years…kept the men under his command alive.” In loving memory of their fallen leader, at least ten of his squad members have named a child after Will.

Military veterans here and elsewhere continue to hold Will in respect. A Seattle American Legion post formed in 2018 as William C. Stacey Post 206.

The community supports Will Stacey Field.

Everyone who knew Will growing up remembers him in connection with the RUG games he played at Maple Leaf.

Over 900 people attended his funeral and RUG Little League received over $45,000 in donations in Will’s memory—tangible signs of the love and respect in which the local community holds Will.

Seattle’s youth baseball and military veteran communities, residents of the Roosevelt and Maple Leaf neighborhoods, and friends of the Stacey family across Seattle and the nation have long wanted to name this field in honor of Will to recognize his legacy of leadership and service and as a symbol of all Seattle children who chase their dreams on our ballfields.

Leaders from William C. Stacey American Legion Post 206 and RUG Little League formed the Coalition for Will’s Field to organize this massive support for a formal proposal to the City of Seattle.

The Maple Leaf Community Council has formally expressed its “wholehearted support” for this proposal via official letter. "We believe this tribute is a fitting and deserving honor for a remarkable individual whose contributions to our community and dedication to youth sports deserve recognition. We were deeply moved by his inspirational story and the positive impact he had on the lives of this community and those he served with. Will's unwavering determination, his commitment to others, and his genuine love for this community exemplify the values that the Maple Leaf Community Council holds dear.

For more about Will and his love of baseball, service, and life, watch this video played at his memorial service.