William Osborne Solms, 89: Led African-American soldiers in the Netherlands

There's only one American cemetery in the Netherlands and Bill Solms of Atlanta commanded the troops who built it.

What's more, the 260 enlisted men Solms oversaw in digging the resting place for soldiers were African-Americans. He promoted three of them to second lieutenant.

"My attitude was we were all soldiers," he said in 2009 when he was interviewed for a film being made to celebrate the 65th anniversary of the Netherlands' liberation. "We were just trying to get the job done and come home."

Mr. Solms' attitude toward blacks may be attributed to exposure in his native Savannah. His family owned the Solms Hotel on Tybee Island. As a kid, he played with some of the blacks employed on the property, said a son, John Solms of Vinings.

"He talked about a porter who worked there that he used to play half-rubber with," his son said. "He often said that to him they were just other guys and that there was no difference."

On Monday, William Osborne Solms of Atlanta died at Piedmont Hospital from complications of a heart attack. He was 89. A funeral is scheduled for 10 a.m. Saturday at H.M. Patterson & Son, Spring Hill Chapel, in Atlanta.

In 1942, Mr. Solms graduated from the University of Georgia with a bachelor's degree in accounting. He'd played basketball and had been a member of the ROTC. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army when he became active in World War II.

During the war, he commanded the 960th Quartermaster Company, the outfit that helped with construction of the cemetery in the village of Margraten. Last year, he was officially honored in the Netherlands for his efforts. And he was awarded the Bronze Star for his military service.

In 1947, Mr. Solms earned a law degree from the University of Georgia. Shortly thereafter, he married Harriet "Peg" Hodgson, his wife of 63 years. He accepted a job with the Coca-Cola Export Corp., the start of an exotic 34-year career.

Mr. Solms worked briefly in Argentina, then became assistant regional manager for Coca-Cola in Mexico, where he spent 16 years. His two youngest children were born there.

"I learned Spanish before I learned to speak English," his son said. "We moved to Miami when I was 10, and I had a pretty good handle on the language and was able to continue it."

After nearly two decades in Mexico, Mr. Solms relocated to the company's Latin American headquarters in Coral Gables, Fla., where he worked a decade. In 1970, Mr. Solms became president of Coca-Cola Latin America. The family eventually relocated to Atlanta, where he retired in 1981 as senior vice president of the Coca-Cola Co.