Page 16 - Amarillo Senior Link Magazine Winter 2021 - Online Magazine
P. 16

Not long after Bill’s                                                  Then his almost two decades
            father came to serve                                                   of CIS Foundation ministries
            as a firefighter in the                                                ended somewhat unexpectedly
            Pantex community, the                                                  when new Belarusian laws and
            government bulldozed                                                   restrictions on tourist travels
            all barracks and houses,                                               prompted U.S. immigration
            turning it into a highly                                               authorities to warn Bill’s mission
            secure nuclear weapons                                                 team members not to risk going
            facility. Bulldog         The Amarillo 2000 Franklin Graham Festival executive   there anymore. As unexpectedly
                                      committee. Left to right: Gene Shelburne, then pastor of
            Drummond stopped          Anna Street Church of Christ; Col. Bill Duncan USMC (Ret.);   as the Lord had drafted Bill into
            driving their school bus,   Franklin Graham; Attorney Bob Sanders.     his role as a spiritual warrior, he
            and, since he eventually                                               told Bill to stand down.
            became plant manager
            for the upgraded Pantex nuclear arms facility (and   Being Amarilloans at heart, Bill and Arlene stayed
            later a mayor of Amarillo), his name now marks one of   here as long as they could. But, as their ninth decade
            Pantex’s newest and finest buildings.               approached, their family in the D.C. area convinced
                                                                them to move closer to them while they still could.
            Since Bill returned home to the States after extended   So, this decorated warrior and his wife now reside in
            combat missions in both Korea and Vietnam, he saw   Alexandria, VA.
            firsthand the sad shift in the public perception of our
            nation’s soldiers. The protests and disgrace heaped   When Bill’s book gets published, be sure to get a copy.
            upon returning Vietnam vets did not deter Bill from   Reading it will give you a new way to evaluate a lot of
            giving our country two more decades of dedicated    our nation’s history. It will help you to see how much
            service.                                            “the Greatest Generation” did to make America what
                                                                it is.














































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