Some Things You Can’t Explain…

One of my best friends in elementary school was Timmy Walker.  Timmy was funny, friendly and a great pick-up football player.  We made great teammates; he was the tallest in the class and would block for me and I was the shortest and quickest and would run behind him while he plowed through the defense.  He would stick up for me in arguments and was always there to help out when I needed him.  Timmy was a friend’s friend – a genuinely good guy.  I haven’t heard about Timmy for several years until NewsChannel 5 had a story about a young soldier than was killed by an IED in Iraq this past Saturday.  It didn’t dawn on me that it was the same Timothy until a mutual friend e-mailed me.  You probably didn’t know Tim, but you should have.  He signed up to fight for you and his country and from all accounts was a fine soldier, family man and American.  I’ll miss Timmy.  Say a little prayer for his family today…

Here’s more information on my elementary school friend…

From the TENNESSEAN.com

By: Harriet Vaughan

FRANKLIN — Tuesday’s Veterans Day celebrations made Melissa Claiborne’s pain of coping with her cousin’s death much more difficult.

Staff Sgt. Timothy H. Walker, 38, was killed Saturday in Iraq after a roadside bomb exploded next to his vehicle.

The Primm Springs native graduated from Fairview High School in 1988. In 1990, he joined the Army. Most recently, he served as a medic with the 64th Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, stationed in Fort Carson, Colo. Walker, one month away from returning home, was finishing his second tour of duty in Iraq. His unit was assigned to secure Sadr City in Baghdad’s northeast region and he was providing training for the Iraqi army and Iraqi police officers at the time of his death.

Walker had also done a tour in Bosnia and Kuwait.

His remains were expected to arrive in Colorado on Friday, after an autopsy.

He is survived by his wife, Dawn Walker, and two children, Gregory, 7, and Madison, 3. The couple, married for 14 years, met when he was stationed at Fort Knox in Kentucky.

Walker’s family learned of his death early Saturday afternoon.

“It was very upsetting on Saturday and Sunday. I was a little better Monday, but they ran a story about him on the news, and then the whole Veterans Day has been rough,” said Claiborne, who lives in the southwest Williamson County community of Primm Springs next door to Walker’s childhood home.

Walker’s only sister, Shelly Taylor of Burns, Tenn., notified family members of his death. She says the past few days have been long and tough. The help and support of the community is helping her and her family make it through.

“It’s just an outpouring. I’ve experienced gratitude, but this one hits me so close to home and it’s emotionally overwhelming. It’s almost emotionally exhausting. I’m not complaining. It’s wonderfully a lot,” she said.

Barbara Shearer of Franklin, Walker’s mother, is in Colorado helping Dawn Walker prepare for the funeral. Wayne Walker of Nashville, Timothy’s father, is in Tennessee awaiting funeral arrangements. The two divorced shortly after Timothy Walker graduated from high school.

Walker was two years shy of retiring from the army after 20 years of service. Taylor says he planned to move his family back to Tennessee.

During his career, he was awarded the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, six Army Commendation medals and dozens of other medals and citations.