Honoring my dad

Dear Dad,

It's not Father's Day but you're my dad, and you're 88 and I want to say a few things before the time gets away. After all, our hearts are beating even as we now breathe and who knows how much time either of us has? (See my note about heartbeats at top of my blog.)

You were born in 1921 in Fish Springs, Tenn., near Butler, Tenn., one of 13 children (or was it 12?)

You came into this world hungy and naked and squalling not at a hospital but at your home. It was Feb. 2--Groundhog's Day. That's why we've lovingly referred to you as the "Old Groundhog" in your autumn years.

As a boy, you hoed corn, as I recall your telling me many times, for 10 cents an hour, on a rough, steep Tennessee hillside.

Life was harsh, to say the least. Food was scarce, but at least your parents, Avery Timbs and Roberta Timbs, could feed their family with their home grown potatoes, beans and potatoes. And I believe the Timbs clan always had a few pigs and chickens and a milk cow. So no one went hungry, and everyone in your family got an apple or orange and a piece of stick candy for Christmas.

Those had to have been tough, trying times--growing up (and surviving) at Fish Springs in Carter County, Tenn.

You enlisted in the U.S. Army five months before America entered World War II. (For you, that must have been a grand adventure--escaping from the hills of Tennesee and shoving off to explore the world!)

I've heard you tell stories about your Army days--earning $21 a month and sending a portion of that money back home to Fish Springs to help your mom and dad and siblings.

(How on earth does someone who makes only $21 a month salt away some of that for the family back in Tennessee?)

As an Army infantryman, you served in lots of places, including: Fort Lee, Va.; the Mohave Desert in California; the island of Kauai in Hawaii; and in the jungles of New Guinea and on the island of Moratai in the Pacific. You also did your part on the island of Luzon in the Philippines, where, while you were there, Japanese General Yamishito surrendered to your division.

Later, your division was selected to be one of the first to invade Japan, but as fate would have it, after the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, you went to Japan only as part of an "occupation force" for six months before returning to the U.S.

Okay, so then, dad, you thought you'd had enough of the military and high-tailed it back to Fish Springs.

But jobs and opportunities in East Tennessee must have been really scarce, so back into the military you went--this time to the U.S. Air Force.

You liked the Air Force and vice versa because you stayed for 20 years, retiring in Oct. 1962, after serving, among other places, at Sewart Air Force Base near Nashville, Tenn.; Korea during the Korean conflict; Eglin Field (near Niceville, Fla.) where I was born; Austin, Texas; Nagoya, Japan; McGhee-Tyson Air Force Base near Maryville, Tenn.; and at Ent Air Force Base in Colorado Springs, Colo.

In the Air Force, you were, at various times, a recruiter, historian, reporter, and newspaper editor. (Maybe that's how I first became attracted to journalism.) Your last newspaper assignment was the Skyline Observer--where you were editor of a publication focusing on the North American Air Defense Command (NORAD) and the Air Force's Space Command.

When you retired from the military service (at age 38), you had a chest full of medals and decorations, including: the Army Commendation Ribbon, Distinguished Unit Citation, Air Force Unit Award, Good Conduct Medal, American Defense Service Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Ribbon with three Bronze Service Stars, World War II Victory Medal, Army of Occupation Medal (Japan), National Defense Service Medal, Korean Service Medal with five Bronze Service Stars, Air Force Longevity Service Award with Four Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, Philippine Liberation Medal, Philippine Presidential Citation, United States Presidential Citation, Republic of Korea Presidential Citation.

The brass wrote this about you on your retirement order: "Throughout his military service Technical Sergeant Timbs has given faithful and conscientious service to his country. His standard of conduct and leadership has provided an excellent example for those who have been associated with him during his military career."

Good job serving our country, dad. I love you and am honored to be your son.