ROBERT RAYBURN's military work had top-secret aspects
By Rob Johnson
The Commercial Appeal
Sat. Oct. 21, 1995
The family of Robert William Rayburn never knew all he did in service of his country, but they never were uncertain how he felt about meeting the family's needs.
Services for Rayburn, a retired Air Force veteran who saw duty in two major wars in southeast Asiua, will be today in Parsons, Tenn.
The 73 year old died Tuesday of heart failure at Baptist Memorial Hospital.
Mr. Rayburn was a retired Master Sergeant in the Air Force who served in Korea, Vietnam, Germany, China and Thailand, according to his nephew, Tim Cook.
"He worked with lots of weapons," said Cook an Air Force himself who is now a sergeant in the Memphis Police Department. "He was loading bombs,arming them, de-arming bombs, working with explosives.
A large part of his work was hidden from his family, Cook said " He had top secret clearance, and so he just didn't talk too much about it.
But family members say Mr. Rayburn was still around when they needed him.
" I remember when my grandmother got sick real sick." said Cook. " she couldn't take care of herself then, so he came in paid off her house, fenced her whole yard, had the house painted, fixed it up inside.
"He was the oldest, and he believed that it was the oldest's responsibility to take care of things like that. He didn't just say what he thought should be done. He did it. He set the example."
Mr Rayburn retired in 1973 from a military that took him into the Navy, the Army and ultimately the Air Force. He settled in Parsons, where he married in 1974. When his wife, Margaret Rayburn, died in 1989, Mr. Rayburn moved back to Memphis, the city where he was born.
He was a member of the South Side Baptist Church and American Legion Post 90 and was a Mason.
Services will be be at 1 p.m. today at Boyd Funeral Home in Parsons, with burial in Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Lexington, Tenn. Mr. Rayburn also leaves a son, Robert William Rayburn Jr. of Texas, a sister, Frances L. Cook, and a brother, Milton R. Rayburn, both of Memphis.
ROBERT RAYBURN's military work had top-secret aspects
By Rob Johnson
The Commercial Appeal
Sat. Oct. 21, 1995
The family of Robert William Rayburn never knew all he did in service of his country, but they never were uncertain how he felt about meeting the family's needs.
Services for Rayburn, a retired Air Force veteran who saw duty in two major wars in southeast Asiua, will be today in Parsons, Tenn.
The 73 year old died Tuesday of heart failure at Baptist Memorial Hospital.
Mr. Rayburn was a retired Master Sergeant in the Air Force who served in Korea, Vietnam, Germany, China and Thailand, according to his nephew, Tim Cook.
"He worked with lots of weapons," said Cook an Air Force himself who is now a sergeant in the Memphis Police Department. "He was loading bombs,arming them, de-arming bombs, working with explosives.
A large part of his work was hidden from his family, Cook said " He had top secret clearance, and so he just didn't talk too much about it.
But family members say Mr. Rayburn was still around when they needed him.
" I remember when my grandmother got sick real sick." said Cook. " she couldn't take care of herself then, so he came in paid off her house, fenced her whole yard, had the house painted, fixed it up inside.
"He was the oldest, and he believed that it was the oldest's responsibility to take care of things like that. He didn't just say what he thought should be done. He did it. He set the example."
Mr Rayburn retired in 1973 from a military that took him into the Navy, the Army and ultimately the Air Force. He settled in Parsons, where he married in 1974. When his wife, Margaret Rayburn, died in 1989, Mr. Rayburn moved back to Memphis, the city where he was born.
He was a member of the South Side Baptist Church and American Legion Post 90 and was a Mason.
Services will be be at 1 p.m. today at Boyd Funeral Home in Parsons, with burial in Pleasant Hill Cemetery in Lexington, Tenn. Mr. Rayburn also leaves a son, Robert William Rayburn Jr. of Texas, a sister, Frances L. Cook, and a brother, Milton R. Rayburn, both of Memphis.
