Page 11 - Amarillo Senior Link Magazine Fall 2019- Online Magazine
P. 11

WORLD WAR II






             As anticipated, Dad got his draft notice and decided   great schools and teachers. Our mom was a great
             to sign on with the Navy. Farris, my grandfather,    cook and always had a meal prepared for us. Her
             had served in the Navy during WWI and explained      chocolate pies were legendary.
             to my Dad that he would at least have a warm place
             to sleep at night. Not always the case in the Army or   After finishing my degree at Texas Tech University in
             Marines!                                             1971, my own young family moved to Amarillo. My
                                                                  parents retired and moved to Amarillo soon after.
             Following basic training, the Navy trained my Dad to   Over time, my sisters and their families migrated
             be a machinist. He was assigned to the USS Tennessee   north to Amarillo as well.
             that was back in service
             after serious damage                                                     Our mother died in December
             at Pearl Harbor the                                                      2008 leaving a terrible void in
             year before. My mother                                                   Dad’s life. He has lived at Park
             wrote daily, but ship                                                    Central and now at Heartis
             mail was intermittent                                                    Assisted Living Center the
             and often delayed. After                                                 past 11 years. At age 97, his
             one three-month delay,                                                   mind is sharp, and he is doing
             my dad received a stack                                                  reasonably well physically.
             of letters. Among them                                                   I check on him two or three
             was news that my mom                                                     times a week, and we always
             was pregnant with my                                                     enjoy great conversations.
             older sister, Lynnita.                                                   From my perspective, I
             She was born September                                                   know that I am what I am
             15, 1943 while my Dad                                today because of my great parents. My father is a
             was somewhere in the South Pacific. My sister was    soft-spoken, true gentleman. I never heard him say
             15-months old when my Dad finally got to come        a curse word. He was slow to anger - although I
             home on leave and meet her. His return to duty was   tested him a few times! I rarely got a “busting”, but I
             a difficult experience for my parents.               assure you, I deserved it when it happened, and I am

             When the war ended, Dad came home to Snyder,         thankful today that he did that.
             Texas where Mom and baby Lynnita were living         As a kid, I recall being with my dad in downtown
             with a sister and an aunt. Dad used his machinist    Levelland and hearing incarcerated prisoners in the
             skills to get a job, and the young family soon moved   county jail hollering out the second-floor windows
             to Lubbock. I came along in 1948, and my younger     for someone to bring them cigarettes. We would walk
             sister Patti was born in 1956. Dad was eventually    over to the corner drug store, buy a pack of Camels
             hired in the oil fields around Levelland, and that is   and deliver them back to the jail. Lynwood Pirtle
             where my sisters and I were raised.                  has indeed been a man who practiced his Methodist
             My parents were active in the Methodist Church       upbringing and affected many people in a very
             where we attended every Sunday. Dad was a leader     positive way. I am lucky to be his son.
             in our church, a scout leader, and baseball coach. My
             sisters and I agree that we were lucky to have been
             brought up by loving parents in a small town with







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