..Sunday was a beautiful day in Tennessee, sunshine warming what would have otherwise been a chilly day. It was a perfect day for a drive in the country if it had been any other Sunday. But for this Sunday a call had gone to the brothers of the ‘phin, to the VFW, to the Patriot Guard Riders, to the Navy Honor Guard.
It was an incongruous cast that showed up at the Old Path Baptist Church, a small, humble but proud place of worship in Fairview, a tidy village spread out across the countryside about a half hour southwest of Nashville: several older gentlemen in vests adorned with submarine patches, rifle toting vets in ersatz uniforms and garrison caps, motorcyclists with leather vests and some sporting doo rags and two young ladies in Navy dress blues, a junior grade lieutenant and a petty officer first. Of the couple of dozen people who arrived in mid-afternoon to render honors no more than a few, if any at all, had ever met Ricky Stephen Tidwell or each other, but we had all found our way there because Ricky Stephen Tidwell had died.
Ricky was a submariner, a brother of the ‘phin. He was born and bred in the Volunteer state and chose to be a special volunteer. Out of high school he volunteered to serve his country by enlisting in the Navy and he volunteered in his Navy to be a submariner, a steely-eyed man of the deep. Ricky gave his country twenty years of service, service in one of the most demanding, dangerous and important assignments in his Armed Forces. He joined a band of brothers who knew every time they cast off lines and set sail they were a hair trigger away from a combat mission, the Cold War calling upon every submariner to serve 24/7 beneath the waves making sure their countrymen could sleep sound in their beds. Those who sail in the nation’s silent service have a natural bond regardless of any other consideration – not of politics, not of geography, not of race or creed, one need not even be of personal acquaintance.
..and on behalf of a grateful nation..
Eternal patrol. That’s what submariners say of their shipmates who have finished their days. That’s why brothers of the ‘phin show up to listen to the sermons, to pay respects to the families, to toll the bell – to say farewell.
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep,
Its own appointed limits keep.
Oh hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!
I never met Ricky Stephen Tidwell, but he was my brother. I didn’t know his family until I arrived at the Old Path Baptist Church on Sunday afternoon. When his sister said, “Thank you for coming today, you don’t know what this means to his family,” the words weren’t said but the reply would have been, “You don’t know what this means to his brothers.”
..and on behalf of a proud Navy..
Ricky Stephen Tidwell
Sonar Technician First Class (Submarines)
U.S. Navy (Retired)
1959-2013
R.I.P.
“As I watched him turn and walk away
I felt honored to know such men.
for they bring life to Duty, Honor, Country
these ‘Brothers of the ‘Phin.’”
The lieutenant junior grade kneels before the family and presents the carefully folded stars and stripes.
..please accept this flag as a symbol of your loved one’s service to this Country.
On behalf…
On behalf of the President of the United States..
..Sunday was a beautiful day in Tennessee, sunshine warming what would have otherwise been a chilly day. It was a perfect day for a drive in the country if it had been any other Sunday. But for this Sunday a call had gone to the brothers of the ‘phin, to the VFW, to the Patriot Guard Riders, to the Navy Honor Guard.
It was an incongruous cast that showed up at the Old Path Baptist Church, a small, humble but proud place of worship in Fairview, a tidy village spread out across the countryside about a half hour southwest of Nashville: several older gentlemen in vests adorned with submarine patches, rifle toting vets in ersatz uniforms and garrison caps, motorcyclists with leather vests and some sporting doo rags and two young ladies in Navy dress blues, a junior grade lieutenant and a petty officer first. Of the couple of dozen people who arrived in mid-afternoon to render honors no more than a few, if any at all, had ever met Ricky Stephen Tidwell or each other, but we had all found our way there because Ricky Stephen Tidwell had died.
Ricky was a submariner, a brother of the ‘phin. He was born and bred in the Volunteer state and chose to be a special volunteer. Out of high school he volunteered to serve his country by enlisting in the Navy and he volunteered in his Navy to be a submariner, a steely-eyed man of the deep. Ricky gave his country twenty years of service, service in one of the most demanding, dangerous and important assignments in his Armed Forces. He joined a band of brothers who knew every time they cast off lines and set sail they were a hair trigger away from a combat mission, the Cold War calling upon every submariner to serve 24/7 beneath the waves making sure their countrymen could sleep sound in their beds. Those who sail in the nation’s silent service have a natural bond regardless of any other consideration – not of politics, not of geography, not of race or creed, one need not even be of personal acquaintance.
..and on behalf of a grateful nation..
Eternal patrol. That’s what submariners say of their shipmates who have finished their days. That’s why brothers of the ‘phin show up to listen to the sermons, to pay respects to the families, to toll the bell – to say farewell.
Eternal Father, strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep,
Its own appointed limits keep.
Oh hear us when we cry to Thee,
For those in peril on the sea!
I never met Ricky Stephen Tidwell, but he was my brother. I didn’t know his family until I arrived at the Old Path Baptist Church on Sunday afternoon. When his sister said, “Thank you for coming today, you don’t know what this means to his family,” the words weren’t said but the reply would have been, “You don’t know what this means to his brothers.”
..and on behalf of a proud Navy..
Ricky Stephen Tidwell
Sonar Technician First Class (Submarines)
U.S. Navy (Retired)
1959-2013
R.I.P.
“As I watched him turn and walk away
I felt honored to know such men.
for they bring life to Duty, Honor, Country
these ‘Brothers of the ‘Phin.’”
The lieutenant junior grade kneels before the family and presents the carefully folded stars and stripes.
..please accept this flag as a symbol of your loved one’s service to this Country.
Brothers of the ‘Phin by Larry Dunn