Emmett A. Wilson III's Obituary
Emmett A Wilson III, a Vietnam War combat veteran and longtime resident of Memphis, died peacefully on Sunday morning October 1, 2023. In the preceding days of hospice care he was surrounded by family and close friends who wanted to say goodbye to a man who had quite a remarkable life. Emmett never met a stranger and could make just about anyone smile or laugh with his charming and cheerful demeanor.
Emmett was preceded in death by his parents Nelda Cothern Wilson and Emmett A Wilson Jr., his father-in-law Russell W. Sims and mother-in-law Eleanor D. Sims, his beloved brother-in-law Lynn “Bacon” Harris and his amazing aunts and uncles: Lurline “Sissy” Perkins, Ralph Wilson Sr., Clarence “Jack” Wilson, James Denver Wilson, Dorothy “Dot” Butler and William R. Cothern.
Emmett is survived by his loving wife of 50 years, Kathleen J. Wilson originally of Ridgewood, NJ; his sisters Jane Van Tour, Susan Wilson and Rhonda Harris; his official stepson (but truly a son) James R. (Lydia) Williamson and son Emmett Lee (Colleen) Wilson; his grandsons Wyatt Williamson, Owen Williamson, Dean Williamson and Brendan Wilson; his sister-in-law Eileen Anderson and three brothers-in-law (David, Russell and Donald Sims), aunt Mary Ann Wilson, cousins, nieces, nephews and many other loving family and friends.
Emmett was born August 8, 1947 in Osceola, Arkansas. Emmett attended Osceola Elementary School before his family moved to Memphis in 1953. Spanning several moves within Memphis he attended Peabody Elementary School, Grahamwood Elementary School, Kingsbury Junior High School, and Overton High School where he was a safety on the Junior Varsity Football team, on the Swim and Cross-Country teams with Kermit Lee, and voted into the 1965 Hall of Fame as “Wittiest” Senior. After graduating from Overton he attended the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK) where he began studies in pre-veterinary sciences at the College of Agriculture. After a couple of years at UTK, with the Vietnam War raging and many friends either joining up or being drafted, or already in, he decided to take his chances by volunteering to enlist in the United States Army and potentially becoming an officer.
After induction to the Army in June 1968, Private Wilson completed 6 weeks of Basic Training at Fort Campbell, KY followed by 6 weeks of Advanced Individual Training. He was then selected for Infantry Officer Candidate School (OCS) at Fort Benning, GA. After 23 weeks of arduous training at OCS, Specialist Five Wilson in 3rd Platoon graduated on April 28, 1969 and was immediately commissioned as a reserve 2nd Lieutenant (2LT) in the US Army. After earning his Parachutist Badge (“Jump Wings”) at Benning, Lt. Wilson then proceeded to Fort Bragg, NC for approximately 6 months of training with the 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne). This extended training period with 7th SFG also included mountain training in Utah, and 2 weeks of survival training on Smith Island (now Bald Head Island) at the Cape Fear River in North Carolina. Lt. Wilson left for Vietnam on November 11, 1969.
Once in-country, 2LT Wilson was initially assigned to the 212th Aviation Battalion, 16th Aviation Group in Da Nang but was needed elsewhere. He made his way south to Biên Hòa, where was reassigned to 1st Calvary Division (Airmobile), US II Field Force and served as a platoon leader in B Company, 2nd Battalion of the 12th Cavalry Regiment (2/12 Cav); and had the call sign “Bad Bet 16” with Bravo Company. While mainly in the Phước Long Province (now Bình Phước) he also had stints as a supply officer and information officer with Bravo, and was promoted to 1st Lieutenant (1LT) in April 1970. 1LT Wilson was in Operation Toan Thang 45 with 1st Cav in the Summer of 1970, part of the Sanctuary Counteroffensive also known as the Cambodian Incursion. During this initially clandestine cross-border campaign, 1LT Wilson was appointed as acting Commanding Officer (CO) of C Company, 2/12 Cav. His sky trooper unit, along with others in 1st Cav, were involved with operations that ultimately captured some of the largest Communist supply and munition caches of the entire war, such as “Rock Island East”. After the assignment of a permanent Charlie Company CO in late July, Lt. Wilson served as an advisor in the field for a short time. He was then assigned as the 2nd battalion S3-Air staff officer and helped coordinate aerial operations until departing Vietnam. Among other citations and decorations, Lt. Wilson received the Combat Infantry Badge, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with “V” Device for Heroism, two Bronze Stars for meritorious service in a war zone, and the Silver Star for gallantry in action while in the Republic of Cambodia.
Lt. Wilson returned home from Vietnam on November 11, 1970 - exactly one year after leaving home for his tour of duty. After some well-deserved R&R, he served stateside with the 504th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg before being honorably discharged in March 1971, and entered the US Army Reserve. After his active military service ended, Emmett briefly returned to UTK for further pre-vet studies before heading back to Memphis for good in 1972. He was a cotton gin machinery salesman working for his Dad, owner and operator of Delta Gin & Supply in downtown Memphis. When cotton prices plummeted in the early 1980s and severely impacted the gin industry, Emmett briefly went to trade stocks and bonds, and then embarked on a nearly 40-year career in the ceramic tile, mosaics and natural stone industry, working at F G Whitt Tile & Marble Distributing Co., Monarch Tile Distributors (later part of Marazzi USA), Grays Creek Natural Stone and Tile, and finally Venice Tile & Marble. As a highly personable salesman Emmett cultivated strong and long-lasting relationships across the region and beyond.
Emmett had many varied hobbies and interests including cooking or grilling almost every evening and weekend, reading (such as periodicals, thriller and western novels, historical and biographical non-fiction), rooting for the University of Tennessee football team, cartoon drawing, trivia, completing crossword puzzles especially from the Commercial Appeal and New York Times, horseback riding, plinking, target and clay pigeon shooting, archery, upland bird and various small-game hunting including late-night raccoon trailing and treeing with Tom Moore and their black and tan coonhounds, camping, canoeing and really just about any outdoor activity, rain or shine. He also enjoyed maritime cruising with his wife and friends in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico; deep-sea fishing with his brothers-in-law in the Pacific Northwest and Baja California in Mexico; attending Overton High School and 1st Cavalry reunions; relaxing at the beaches of Florida’s Emerald Coast with his wife, two sons and their families; and enjoying time with his four grandsons. Perhaps his most well-known hobby was being on a competitive barbecue cooking team called the Crispy Critters, who specialized in whole hog but also competed in shoulders, ribs, brisket and other ancillaries at many contests from Memphis to Mississippi, Helena to Knoxville, and from Colorado to Canada. Emmett was actively on the team from 1980 to 2019, initially with his Dad and brother-in-law Lynn, later on with his son Lee and always with team co-founder and head cook Leland Pope. Emmett helped setup and teardown the team site, tended to the smokers for countless hours during the middle of the night, helped to prepare for blind and onsite judges, and most of all enjoyed making family, friends, customers, colleagues, competitors and other guests always feel welcome at the Critters’ booth during the annual Memphis-in-May World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest, commonly known as “BBQ Fest”.
His life will be celebrated on Monday, October 16, 2023 with visitation from 4:00 to 6:00 PM and a memorial service to follow at 6:00 PM, both in the Riverside Chapel at Memorial Park Funeral Home, 5668 Poplar Ave. in Memphis, TN.
Interment services will be on Tuesday, October 17, 2023 at 10:00 AM at the West Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery, 4000 Forest Hill Irene Rd in Memphis, TN.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be considered to your choice of the following:
Fisher House Foundation
(https://fisherhouse.org)
Wounded Warrior Project
(https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org)
American Diabetes Association
(https://diabetes.org)
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