[2][3] Liedtke was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma where his father was an attorney for the Gulf Oil Corporation.
[2][3][4] During World War II, he and his brother, Hugh, served in the South Pacific as junior officers in the United States Navy.
[8] In September 1972, columnist Jack Anderson obtained a report compiled by the House Banking Committee indicating that Liedtke admitted to investigators that he had raised $100,000 in Mexico for Nixon's campaign fund.
[10] He also served as finance chair for Victory 88 Oklahoma, an organization which supported the Bush-Quayle campaign of 1988.
[11] His son, William C. Liedtke III was nominated by President Bush in May 1992 for a seat on the five-member Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.