William Fletcher was born in Lake Forest in 1880, to Charles and Eliza Fletcher. He was employed for years by C. G. Wenban & Co. He was a veteran of the Spanish American War, and had served on the Mexican border. Always a patriotic man, after America entered World War I, he reenlisted, and served as a sergeant in Company C, 370th Infantry. On June 2nd, 1917 the Lake Forester reported that following a Memorial Day celebration in Market Square, Fletcher led the bugle call to close the exercises. A few months later he was in France. 

Sergeant Fletcher died September 13, 1918 after an illness of tuberculosis. As was the case with many others who died in the war, his memorial services were not held until much later, in January 1921, after his body finally arrived from overseas. The funeral service was at the First Baptist Church in Lake Forest, the congregation attended by many other local African American families; the burial was at Lake Forest Cemetery.

Men of the recently established American Legion chapter, including Stanley Anderson, accompanied the body to the grave and observed military rites, firing three volleys. His Chicago Tribune obituary stated that Sergeant Fletcher "had blown taps over the grave of every civil war veteran who died in Lake Forest since the Spanish-American War"; at his own service, a bugler from the navy blew taps. According to the Lake Forester, his pall bearers were local men of color who had seen service overseas, including: Walter Williams, Robert Miller, Walter Matthews, Oliver Matthews, Reid Harriston, Guy Casselberry, James Rogers Jr. and George Giles. The flag at City Hall was flown at half-mast.