My father was one for theatrics. He once told me that “sometimes theatrics can go a long way to get a message across to the masses.” He was always for the underdog, and he wasn’t scared to push against authority to achieve transformation for his team.

 

You always wanted to be on team Gill.

 

What you might not have known, is that my dad is actually Batman. We all know that Batman is someone who stood up for the people.

 

He is strong, protective, willing to stand up for the little guy. He is fiercely loyal, optimistic, compassionate, and strategic.  

 

He is someone that is willing to be perceived as the bad guy even if it means pushing that “someone” or the “world” closer to becoming the good guy.  This is my dad.

 

He was unapologetically determined to push past boundaries to transform circumstances, whether that meant defeating cancer, having children with the women of his dreams, Myong, or living with a cat he desperately loved but was very allergic to.

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When dad did or wanted something, he did it with his whole being. He even named his cat Hooah which is an Army term meaning “absolutely and everything but no”...“ Just keep moving forward”, he would say, “move forward and you will overcome whatever is in front of you”. “Just do it!” 

 

Like batman, my father had a double life: one as my dad in civilian clothes, and another in a uniform I have only come to recently understand the importance of.  Whether you know him as your Army family, your blood family, or just a friend, I can almost guarantee he helped to make you a better person. I know that because he made me a better person. What the movies might not have always shown you is how a humorous man could hide behind his own discipline.

 

His humor is echoed in stories he took the pride to hand-write for my brother and me, one in particular that told the story of how his battalion nicknamed him “The Terminator” while stationed South Korea.

 

He acquired this nickname by, and I quote, “unloading an arsenal of ass chewing” onto a disruptive, lazy, and unmotivated soldier who was on the “thin edge of the wedge of serious consequences.” In short, it led to positive transformation. In the story, he wrote about how he came into this name. He said the following:  

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   “Shaking like a leaf in front of me, I let loose with final salvo telling him that if he ever came back to my office I would TERMINATE his money, TERMINATE his rank, TERMINATE his time and if it was bad enough, TERMINATE his ass out of of the United states Army. I then directed him to get out of my office and go to work. A few days later I was in Battalion Headquarters making my rounds and the Battalion Commander called me into his office. He asked if I knew the name that the soldiers had bestowed upon me. As usual, I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about and replied “no.” My Battalion Commander retold the story and said that the soldier went back to the Battery to promise his peers and superiors that he was going to change and that he never wanted to go see “The Terminator” ever again.”         

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My father left that meeting with mixed feelings because he never wanted to hurt anyone, but rather intended to help them reach their full potential. The thought didn’t last long, however. The soldier in question changed his actions and became a productive member of his section. Meanwhile, my father’s battery claimed the word TERMINATOR as their own as and as a word they rallied and stood behind. Since then, every time he heard the other soldiers mutter “The Terminator is coming,” he couldn’t help but smile large and think, “This is just too much, my God, this is just too funny.”

 

My Dad may have worn the uniform, had a twisted sense of humor, and would chew you out but he never took himself too seriously.

 

Dad, always believed that hard work achieved dreams, but most of all he believed in people. He spent his life building people up. He choose to empower people to be their own heros. In the midst of his own battles, he found the time to inspire not only his own children but their friends, and even strangers.

 

He believed that community is built on giving and loving one other in a non-judgmental way. He reflected these beliefs in his many volunteering positions of which he came to love and was embraced by his local community.

Many of you may know my Dad from his volunteer work with local veterans, the cemetery committee, or the Towns Halls folk. My dad certainly held each of these organizations and the people he served, as well as worked with, very close to his heart.

 

He spent the last few years of his life hand-building his dream home with his dear friends and craftsmen. He also built his dream home with beloved brother, Michael, who shared his passion for wildlife and nature. And like the construction of his home, in which he fortified with love, passion, and attention to detail, he built his life to mirror his intentions of love, passion, and pride that he gave freely to others.  

 

Most of all, his dream house truly reflects the constitution of his soul. It in many ways, the material legacy he leaves us to remind us to dream, to love, to create a life worth living.

 

My father was known as a leader, not just in the Army but also in the home. He raised me and my brother, James, with LDRSHIP values: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, Personal Courage .... and an infinite amount of love.

 

Above all, he was a family man who fiercely loved and protected my brother, mother, and me. He was a man who deeply loved his parents Doris and Earl -- and his siblings, Cathy, Michael, and Susan. He was always  someone who could be depended on to be there if there was ever was a time of need.

 

David Gill could be called Batman; he has been called The Terminator. To me, he will always be Dad, the man who taught me how to unapologetically be me, to love others with everything I have, and most of all to take life in stride with a good tune to get you through.

 

So, If ever you are in a moment of doubt, or against all odds,  I’d like you remember to be “Strong like David” and say to yourself: “I will overcome this” or to simply “keep moving forward with a smile on your face”.

 

Dad was a pillar of strength, not just for me and his family, but for his community and for those he truly appreciated, cared about, and loved . 

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Hooah!

Christina M. Gill