Dem
47
GOP
53
Today, we hear from P.D.K. in Nashville, TN:
My father, Harrison Absolom Dunn, was born in Tellico Plains, TN, sometime between 1919 and 1921 (records differ). He had an idyllic childhood, exploring the mountains in the soon-to-be Cherokee National Forest, riding horseback, and camping out with his father as they rounded up cattle for his family's butcher shop.
But then came his mother's untimely death on the heels of the Depression. His father, Charles, lost the business and farm and fell into a depressed state. So, Harrison quit school in the 9th grade, exaggerated his age, and joined the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) to help his two older sisters finish college.
At the onset of World War II, he immediately volunteered for the U.S. Army. Despite his size and impressive strength, he was rejected when an irregular heartbeat was detected.
Now, as a young man, he came to adore the song "I Met My Million-Dollar Baby In A Five And Ten Cent Store." And he did exactly that. Behind a Woolworth's candy counter in Chattanooga, he found Arlene, the most beautiful girl he could imagine. Things happened fast. They were soon married and Daddy found that he could serve the war effort as a riveter. His intelligence, 6'4" size, and his natural ability to lead made him a legendary figure, as he headed up riveting teams in critical areas. In the last phase of the war, he worked in the Secret City in Oak Ridge, TN, a part of his life never shared.
A natural engineer, after the war he joined a power construction company, and eventually became a partner of Brock and Blevins, as a nationally known expert in power construction.
He loved children (especially my older brother and me, and later his grandchildren), my mother, all things family, steaming-hot morning coffee, grilling T-bone steaks, sunsets, and trips to Tellico to show us picnic pavilions and rock walls that he built while in the CCC. He carried a lifelong pride in all the dams and power houses that he oversaw across the country and beyond. He gloried in the lakes his projects created.
He was an amazing man. A beautiful man. A lifelong Democrat, a patriotic American, and an over-the-top Tennessee football fan. He was a man who lifted up countless people and was always ready to offer forgiveness and second chances to whoever needed what he had to give. He never passed a "beggar" without offering a contribution... and a kind word. He never stopped standing for the underdog. His lack of prejudice made him a friend to all. He never tried to be anybody other than who he was, a man born of the mountains.
He was loved.
As he said to me, "This old ticker only has so many ticks... so when I go, tell that undertaker to put a big smile on my face, because I'm the happiest man who has ever lived." And so he was, when that last tick came on a business trip when he was 63.
I am infinitely thankful that my gentle giant of a father was meant to serve his country leading teams of riveters for the war effort rather than fighting, killing and seeing others die. I guess the fates understood that his big heart was just too gentle to withstand that horror.
Thanks, P.D.K. (Z)