Yucca Valley soldier among five killed in Iraq

Associated Press

YUCCA VALLEY, Calif. - An Army Specialist from this Southern California desert town was among five soldiers killed by a powerful roadside bomb that shredded their heavily armored Bradley Fighting Vehicle during a recent operation in Iraq, military officials said.

Spc. Timothy Watkins, 24, died Oct. 15 while participating in a combat mission in Ramadi, a mostly Sunni Arab city about 70 miles west of Baghdad, the military announced Tuesday. He and the other soldiers had been assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division in Fort Benning, Ga.

In August, Watkins spent two weeks at his parents' home after serving for seven months in Iraq, said his father, Rob Watkins.

"He was great," said Watkins, pastor of Calvary Baptist Church Yucca Valley, a city of about 19,000 people 120 miles east of Los Angeles. "He was in excellent spirits. He always was."

Timothy Watkins was a proud man who believed strongly in the military mission in Iraq, his father said.

He was heavily involved in his church, sang with a worship group and worked with children at a Christian camp.

"He had a servant's heart," Rob Watkins said. "He was very much a help at our church."

Flags at the state Capitol will fly at half-staff in honor of Watkins, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement released Tuesday.

"Spc. Watkins' passing is a tremendous loss," the statement said. "As we honor his bravery and dedication, Californians grieve with his family. Maria and I extend our condolences to Timothy's loved ones."

The others killed with Watkins were Army Staff Sgt. Vincent E. Summers, 38, South Haven, Mich.; Army Spc. Thomas H. Byrd, 21, Cochise, Ariz.; Army Spc. Jeffrey W. Corban, 30, Elkhart, Ind.; and Army Spc. Richard A. Hardy, 24, Newcomerstown, Ohio.

Confirmation of the deaths came on the day that the American military death toll in the Iraq war reached 2,000.

(C) 2005 AP

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Family mourns Yucca Valley soldier killed in Iraq

A Yucca Valley soldier is one of the latest victims in Iraq. This news comes just one day after a somber milestone. Over 2,000 troops have been killed on the battlefields. The president responded to that milestone, saying, "each loss of life is heartbreaking, and the best way to honor our fallen troops is to complete the mission."

The latest hits us right here in the desert. 24-year-old Timothy Watkins died earlier this month. NewsChannel 3 spoke with his family.

On a quiet night, a week-and-a-half ago, the parents of Timothy Watkins opened their door to an army Captain and chaplain.

"They looked pretty serious and I knew then that we were going to get some bad news."

They did. A roadside bomb had killed their son and four others, shredding their armored vehicle.

They had been participating in a dangerous combat mission in Ramadi.

The elder Watkins, who is pastor of Calvary Baptist Church in Yucca Valley, says he was devastated, but his family's faith carried him through.

"It's excruciating that we're not going to be able to hold him, but at the same time, we're very proud of his service. Proud of his reputation."

Watkins says his son was known and respected by soldiers in Iraq. A mentor to some, a friend to many.

"On Sunday mornings, when guys weren't out on a mission, he'd round up anybody that wasn't on a mission and take them to church with him."

Church and religion were some of Timothy's motivators, even back at home.

Pastor Watkins says his son was very involved in the church, helping out any way he could. He even sang in the church choir.

Timothy came home for the final time this past August. He was here for two weeks.

His father says he's thankful for the time they spent together and he knows he'll see him again.

In the meantime, he takes comfort in a Bible verse, Second Timothy, Chapter Four, Verses 7 and 8:

"’I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith, I have finished my course,'” said Pastor Watkins. “And he did. He finished his course."

Timothy Watkins' memorial service will be held next Tuesday at 10 am at Calvary Baptist Church in Yucca Valley.

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Soldier was rooted in Christian endeavors

12:42 AM PDT on Thursday, October 27, 2005

By GREGOR McGAVIN / The Press-Enterprise

The Christian youth camp where he worked as a counselor features dozens of photographs of Tim Watkins on its Web Site -- in each one, he smiles confidently.

Friends and relatives say those pictures capture the spirit of the Yucca Valley man they say was as sure of his religious faith as he was in his service as a soldier in Iraq.

U.S. Army Spc. Tim Watkins was identified by military officials this week as one of five soldiers killed Oct. 15 in Ar Ramadi, Iraq. The soldiers, who were based out of Fort Benning, Ga., died after an improvised explosive device detonated near their Bradley fighting vehicle.

"Tim had a strong faith," his father, Ron Watkins, said Wednesday. "Whatever was needed, he was always there to serve."

Watkins, pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Yucca Valley, said his son was active in the church and in the outside ministry. He said the family has no doubt Tim Watkins and the other soldiers were doing the right thing.

"As Christians, we have always believed there are causes that are great enough to cost some people everything -- and the cause of freedom is that kind of cause," Watkins said.

In addition to serving others, the younger Watkins also loved the High Desert, where the family had moved from Moreno Valley when he was in seventh grade.

Spc. Watkins graduated from Calvary Baptist High School on the grounds of his father's church. He ran track, then studied for short periods at both Pacific Baptist College in Pomona and Bob Jones University in South Carolina.

"He was figuring out what he was going to do with his life," said Ron Perry, pastor at Ironwood, a Christian youth camp in Newberry Springs, near Barstow.

"All along, he wanted to be in the Army, and ultimately he wound up joining."

At Ironwood, a camp Spc. Watkins had attended as a child, he counseled campers, worked in building and maintenance and organized canoeing trips and games.

He ministered to children who came to camp from churches throughout California. At Pacific Baptist, he was also part of the ministry team, which went to churches up and down the West Coast to preach and help with painting or whatever needed to be done.

"He was a very likeable fellow, very athletic," Perry said. "We miss him here.

Spc. Watkins joined the Army in October 2003. Those who knew him say he was excited. His father said Spc. Watkins talked to him frequently through electronic messages.

"He said they were very busy," the elder Watkins said. "But he was cautious because he didn't want us to worry."

In August, Spc. Watkins came home for two weeks vacation after seven months in Iraq. Family and friends, some he had not seen in years, were all able to be there. He even visited Ironwood for a day.

Spc. Watkins is survived by his parents and his four younger brothers and sisters.

Memorial services are scheduled for 10 a.m. at Calvary Baptist Church. That will be followed by public graveside services at Riverside National Cemetery, where Spc. Watkins will be buried with full military honors.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Pacific Baptist College, 395 San Bernardino Ave., Pomona, CA 91767, or to Ironwood camp, 49191 Cherokee Road, Newberry Springs, CA 92365.

Reach Gregor McGavin at (909) 806-3069 or gmcgavin@pe.com.

© 2005, The Press-Enterprise Company

MILITARY DEATHS
Army Spc. Timothy D. Watkins, 24, Yucca Valley; Among 5 Killed in Explosion
By Jia-Rui Chong
Times Staff Writer

November 6, 2005

On the day that Iraqis went to the polls to vote on a new constitution, Timothy D. Watkins was supporting an armor unit in the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi, a city west of Baghdad. An improvised bomb exploded near his unit's Bradley fighting vehicle Oct. 15, and Watkins was killed with four of his fellow Army soldiers.

"It probably sounds like denial, but we really believe our son was doing exactly what the Lord wanted him to do," his father, Rob Watkins, said from the family home in Yucca Valley. "There has never been a cause of freedom and liberation that hasn't cost somebody everything. We believe although all the wrinkles have not been worked out in Iraq, it is still a great cause. Even on the day on which Timothy lost his life, people were actually to have a voice in voting at the polls without fear of retribution."

Timothy Watkins, 24, was born in Mission Viejo, the oldest of five children. Rob Watkins, a 46-year-old pastor, said he moved his wife, Terri, and the family among several churches in Orange County before putting down roots as head of Calvary Baptist Church in Yucca Valley in 1992.

The Christian faith always played a central role in Timothy Watkins' life, his father said. He sang in the church choir, starting as a tenor and ending as a bass. After high school, he spent a year at Pacific Baptist College in Pomona as a Bible major and sang at churches up and down the West Coast.

He also spent many summers at Ironwood Christian Camp in the Mojave Desert near Barstow, where he and others canoed, climbed rocks and swam. Eventually he became a counselor, organizing activities as well as ministering to the eight or so young men in his cabin.

"He was one who really seemed to have a direction in life, and he headed for it," said Ron Perry, 28, head of the college-age program at Ironwood. "For him, it was the Army."

Watkins liked the discipline and commitment of the armed forces, Perry recalled. "He really wanted to do something for his country," he said. "He was really moved by the Twin Towers attack and really, that was one of his driving forces: to help keep our country protected."

Watkins joined the Army in September 2003 and was a specialist assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division at Ft. Benning, Ga.

Watkins returned home for a two-week leave in August during his first tour in Iraq. He appeared to have matured, though he hadn't lost his easygoing character, his father said. "He was cautious to talk about the experience in Iraq," Rob Watkins said. "Not that he was trying to hide anything. It seemed like he was trying to guard our feelings because we were so worried."

But Rob Watkins said he never worried that God took his hand from his son's shoulder.

When Army officials told the family that Timothy had been killed, the family prayed and his father thought of the Bible verse from Paul's second letter to Timothy.

"I have fought a good fight," his father recited. "I have finished my course. I have kept my faith."


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