VOM – August 2021
John D Abbott Merchant Marines 1945-1945 / U.S. Army 1945-1947 John Durwood Abbott was born November 4, 1922, in Wesson, Arkansas, the only child of Henry C. and Carrie May Abbott. John left school after the 7th grade to work on tugboats towing barges from Houston, Texas, to Mobile, Alabama.
VOM – February 2018
John Vincent “Butch” Moeller US Navy, 1979 – 2002 Our February 2018 Veteran of the Month is John Vincent Moeller. Please join us for a reception in his honor at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, February 13 at the Tipton County Museum. John Vincent (Butch) Moeller, Jr. joined the Navy Reserve
VOM – April 2023
Cindy Anne Louise Day US Navy, 1980 – 1992 Cindy Anne Louise Rainey was born on July 24, 1959, in San Marcos, Calif., to William P. Rainey, Sr. and Billie Louise Rainey. Anne’s mother sadly died when Anne was four, causing her father to assume the role of single parent
VOM – April 2018
Charles Lee Kennedy US Navy, Operation Desert Storm Born on April 23, 1960 in Houston, Texas, Charles Lee Kennedy enlisted in the United States Navy at AFEES in Richmond, Virginia, after graduating from Liberty High School in Bedford, Virginia. He saw the world from his various duty stations: USS MIDWAY
VOM – September 2021
Jimmy Lee Blakely U.S. Army, Vietnam 1966-1968 Jimmy Lee Blakely was born on Sept. 24, 1947, to James “Jack” and Jewell Mae Sims Blakely in Selmer, Tennessee, the second of four children. His family moved to Tipton County when Jimmy was young, and he and his siblings attended Byars-Hall High
VOM – January 2022
Paul Wesley Sampson U.S. Navy 1976-1980 Born 1956 in Memphis, Tenn., Paul moved with his family to Charlotte, North Carolina, when he was six. After six years in Charlotte, his family returned to Memphis where Paul graduated from Wooddale High School in 1974. In May 1976, Paul joined the Navy
VOM – September 2016
Henry Leslie Billings (22 May 1947-10 Jun 2023) US Army, Vietnam 1966-1973 Billings finds blessings after tours in Vietnam By SHERRI ONORATI, Special to The Leader More than 2.6 million personnel served within the borders of South Vietnam, including Atoka resident, Henry Leslie Billings, who served two tours in as
VOM – July 2021
Rebecca Knox Dickinson U.S. Navy 1961-1963 Becky Knox was born on April 28, 1943, in Chillicothe, Ohio to Donald and Marjorie Knox. She graduated from Centralia High School in May 1961, was sworn into the Navy in July, then promptly headed for bootcamp in Bainbridge, Maryland. Following her December 1961
VOM – December 2018
Stephen Paul Foisy US Army, Vietnam, 1968-1974 At the age of 21, Stephen Paul Foisy was employed with IBM when he received his draft notice for the United States Army on June 18, 1968, in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania. He completed Basic Training at Fort Dix, New Jersey then served in
VOM – March 2017
Rudolph Boykin Sr. (Oct. 4, 1919 ~ Apr. 30, 2019) US Army WWII, 1944 – 1946 Brighton native honored as Veteran of the Month By Sherri Onorati, Special to The Leader The National World War II Museum reports that there were 16,112,566 members of the United States Armed Forces who