Memorial Wall of Honor - Bill Britz

Dr. William E. Britz, Jr

June 3, 1934 – August 12, 2025

Bill was born in Springfield, Illinois, on June 3, 1934. His early years were spent on the family farm, where he learned the values of hard work, responsibility, and care for animals. He attended local schools before enrolling at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, graduating in 1959 with degrees in Animal Science and Veterinary Medicine.

He began his career in private practice at Labby Animal Medicine in Blue Island, Illinois. To fulfill his ROTC service obligation, he accepted a commission as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and was assigned to a research facility at Holloman Air Force Base in Alamogordo, New Mexico. There, he was introduced to primate medicine and became part of a pioneering program training chimpanzees for early space flight. Bill served as command veterinarian for “Ham,” the first space chimpanzee, whose January 1961 flight preceded the launch of America’s first astronaut, Alan Shepard. Ham’s mission—and that of “Enos,” the second space chimp—proved so successful that the Mercury astronauts could follow in safety, ushering in the era of U.S. human space travel. 

Bill’s Air Force career also took him overseas, with assignments in Izmir, Turkey, and at Clark Air Base in the Philippines, where he served as base veterinarian. His family accompanied him on both tours, enjoying the opportunity to explore the Near East and Asia. After 21 years of service, he retired in 1980 with the rank of Colonel, having been awarded the Presidential Legion of Merit and the Defense Service Medal.

Following his military career, Bill joined the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center as Director of the Center for Comparative Medicine. In 1991, he founded a small company dedicated to designing and manufacturing enriched housing environments for research animals. His commitment to improving the welfare of animals in research lives on through Britz & Company, which continues to operate in Wheatland and Sheridan, Wyoming, under the care of his family.

Give in memory of Dr. Bill Britz and keep his passion alive through the AALAS Foundation.

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