A more than century-long life shaped by war, diplomacy and an unshakable commitment to peace came to a close last month when East Lansing resident Bill Root died at 102.
Bill departed this world after three acts, serving his country and its people in each: in the Pacific theater of World War II, more than three decades in the U.S. State Department, and more than 40 years as a champion for peace. He helped usher the U.S. through the Cold War and was the only American diplomat serving in Vietnam to protest the war’s expansion into neighboring Cambodia at the time.
East Lansing Info spoke with his daughter, Chris Root, a peace activist in her own right…