William was born on the 6th of January 1868, in Galveston, Texas, and he enlisted in the US Army on the 24th of January 1887 in New York City. Interestingly, the enlistment record lists his age as 24, but if he was born in 1868, he would’ve been 19. William was assigned to E Troop, 7th US Cavalry Regiment, and served in the Battle of Wounded Knee, where he would display actions that would earn him the Medal of Honor. The citation reads:

While the Indians were concealed in a ravine, assisted men on the skirmish line, directing their fire, etc., and using every effort to dislodge the enemy.

William was a Sergeant at the time, and he received the Medal of Honor on the 27th of June 1891. He remained in the Army until January of 1892, and he was married three times: his first wife, Carrie, died during childbirth in 1897. He married Marie in 1908, which ended in divorce, and was married one last time to Frances, with whom they had two daughters. William joined the Savannah Volunteer Guards in 1894 and he commanded Company A during the Spanish-American War, reaching the rank of Captain. He also served as the Chief of Police of Savannah, Georgia, and owned an automotive dealership.

When the US entered World War 1, William once again served the country when he was appointed to command the 302nd Stevedore Regiment. This unit was active from 1917 to 1919 and was established to provide movement of supplies in support of the American Expeditionary Forces through ports. William ended his time in service as a Colonel in 1919 and he retired to California. William Grafton Austin died on the 15th of July 1929, at the age of 61, and he was cremated and the location of his ashes are not known.