ARTHUR R TIMBOE
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HONORED ON PANEL 36E, LINE 62 OF THE WALL

ARTHUR RICHARD TIMBOE

WALL NAME

ARTHUR R TIMBOE

PANEL / LINE

36E/62

DATE OF BIRTH

03/23/1944

CASUALTY PROVINCE

BINH DUONG

DATE OF CASUALTY

02/01/1968

HOME OF RECORD

SAN FRANCISCO

STATE

CA

BRANCH OF SERVICE

ARMY

RANK

1LT

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Contact Details

REMEMBRANCES

LEFT FOR ARTHUR RICHARD TIMBOE
POSTED ON 11.18.2023
POSTED BY: John Fabris

honoring you....

Some may think you are forgotten
Though on earth you are no more
But in our memory you are with us
As you always were before….
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POSTED ON 8.4.2022
POSTED BY: Lucy Micik

Thank You

Dear Lt Arthur Timboe, Thank you for your service as a Ranger Qualified Infantry Unit Commander. Saying thank you isn't enough, but it is from the heart. Today is the 58th anniversary of the 2nd Gulf of Tonkin Incident. Time passes quickly. Please watch over America, it still needs your strength, courage, guidance and faithfulness, especially now. Rest in peace with the angels.
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POSTED ON 7.14.2018
POSTED BY: Mary DeWitt

Remembered by St Ignatius College Prep (class of '62)

Born March 23, 1944, he was known as “Rich” at SI, “Art” at USF and “Tim” at home and in the military. Richard Arthur Timboe is also remembered as a hero for giving up his life while trying to save a soldier in the South Vietnamese Army.

Timboe grew up an Army brat in the Presidio along with Margo McRice, whom he later married. “It was like growing up in a little village inside a big city,” said Margo. “No one locked the doors.” Tim played Little League baseball and ran track at SI, and his best friend was Terry Gillin ’62, now a professor of sociology at Ryerson University in Canada, who knew him as a quiet guy. “It blew everyone’s mind when Margo and he eloped a year after he graduated from SI.”

In 1963, after returning from Mexico, Tim and Margo moved in with Tim’s parents while Tim continued his studies in political science at USF. Their son Michael Arthur Timboe was born in late 1963 and Brian William Timboe was born the following year. Tim graduated in 1966 and entered the Army after receiving his ROTC commission.

He went to Ft. Benning, Georgia, for infantry training and then to Ft. Campbell, Kentucky, to the 101st Airborne Division for jump school training. As a first lieutenant and pathfinder, he went to Vietnam in November 1967, assigned as an advisor to a village north of Saigon to work with the South Vietnamese Army as part of Advisory Team 70. He slept and ate with the villagers and wrote home about drinking homemade liquor. His wife sent him care packages of San Francisco items: copies of the Chronicle, Ghirardelli chocolate bars and sourdough bread.

On January 30, 1968, the North Vietnamese launched the Tet Offensive. On February 1, the Vietnamese commander of Tim’s unit sent out a light machine gun unit to try to capture Viet Cong. One gunner was hit and Tim ran out to carry him to safety. He hoisted the man onto his shoulders and was running back when he was shot and killed. For his bravery, he was awarded the Silver Star.

“He was really friendly and didn’t have an enemy in the world,” said his son, Brian. “He died doing exactly what he wanted to do. All he ever wanted to do in his whole life was serve in the Army.”

Timboe’s family was first told that he was missing in action. Five days later, word came that he had died. “This poor soul in uniform came to the door,” said Margo. “He was a basket case. I was his first case ever, and I had to call my father to take him to a bar to calm him down. He didn’t know what to say. It was probably for the best, as it took my mind away from my own loss worrying about this poor guy.

“Fr. Eugene Schallert, SJ, at USF was such a good help during this time,” added Margo. “He told me not to wallow in self pity and to focus on taking care of my children.” Fr. Schallert presided over the funeral Mass at St. Ignatius Church February 14.

For Gillin, the loss of his best friend was a hard one to take. “I was in grad school when Margo called me. Like so many at that time, I had a kind of confusion about opposing the war while still struggling to honor those who were fighting. I had a tremendous sense of loss and a sense of ambivalence over whether or not he had died for a good and just cause. Part of my sadness was that I thought his death was unnecessary because the war was inappropriate. We need to honor people like Tim who have served their county so selflessly while, at the same time, remain free to intellectually and morally challenge the rightness of any war.” Margo chose to involve herself with Swords into Plowshares. “They know how to heal everyone, even widows.”

Richard Arthur Timboe is buried in the San Francisco National Cemetery in the Presidio, Plot WS 636-B, and his name can be found on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Panel 36E, Line 62. He is also survived by his two grandsons, Christopher and Dylan.
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POSTED ON 11.12.2017
POSTED BY: Bowman Olds

Never To Be Forgotten

Art's leadership when we were cadets at the University of San Francisco has been the cornerstone for our success later in life. Art will always be remembered for all he did for us.
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POSTED ON 7.21.2017
POSTED BY: Robert J. Fernandez

remembering a classmate

When we took the final exam for our last class before graduating from the University of San Francisco, Art was sitting in front of me and he turned to me and said, "well, so much for college, what's next?" When I heard of his death in Vietnam, I remembered his words. So sad.
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