Joe’s father
David, Tim’s grandfather, started his physical training early. At two, he was
so active he was having trouble walking. The doctor determined he was too
musclebound to walk properly. Later, his father Ray hitched David up to the
plow to work the garden, instead of using a horse. He went on to become captain
of the football team at The Citadel. The University of South Caroline was a
major football power at that time, but David’s team managed to beat them, the
only time that has ever happened.
David was in the Korean War. He was a
forward observer, maybe the most dangerous job in the army. Their job was to
move into enemy territory, locate enemy forces, and call in artillery fire.
This was during a time of change and
experimentation in the US army. Up to that point, the early 1950’s, black
soldiers were normally not highly trained in fighting, being usually assigned
more domestic duties. That was changing. David was given a team of thirty men,
mostly blacks, and he trained them up to a very high fighting level.
Also along about that time, the Chinese
were flooding into North Korea to fight for North Korea against the South
Koreans and Americans. They came in very large numbers. They fought with guns,
pitchforks, hoes, etc. The Large hoards of men more than made up for any
shortage in equipment or training.
David’s team, as forward observers, were
spotted by one of these very large groups. The machine guns David’s team was
equipped with had two barrels. While one was firing, the other would be cooling
off. Facing this vast hoard of Chinese, cooling the barrel was a luxury they
could not afford. They had to keep both barrels firing constantly. Over time,
both barrels melted.
Both groups were running out of
ammunition.
Now, it was man to man, hand to hand.
David realized they were about to be overrun, so he called in artillery fire
right on top of the entire battlefield. That way, the enemy would be taken out
also.
Officers, such as David, carried a pistol.
They were trained to shoot themselves rather than be captured. David pulled his
pistol, ready to do his duty. But he just could not bring himself to pull the
trigger. The only other option was to fight to the end. David dimly remembers he
and men around him beating each other with fists, and heads being slammed
against the ground. After what seemed like forever, all was quiet on the field.
There was no one left to fight. Only David and two of his men survived.
**
David’s father Ray, Tim’s
great-grandfather, became a professional heavyweight boxer at an early age. He
married at fourteen. He and his wife had eight children. His wife finally
persuaded Ray to retire from boxing. He always regretted that decision.
Ray went on to become the ski jumping
champion of West Virginia. At 55, he was the national skeet shooting champion.
Even his bird dogs were national champions.
Ray became a state senator in West
Virginia. When the presidential elections rolled around, he played a major role
in helping John F. Kennedy get the presidential nomination. West Virginia
became a key state in the election, and Ray campaigned tirelessly. Who woulda’
guessed?
When West Virginia compiled a list of the
one hundred greatest athletes in the last hundred years, both Ray and David
were on that list.
Hopefully,
Tim and Caylie will produce the next generation of supermen for the Barnett family.
Who knows? Maybe a little of that super manhood will spill over into the Gillum
clan.
Just look at me. As you can easily see, we
need a little dab of that.
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