The Tinker Air Force Base Installation Commander took a moment to honor the heritage of the base’s namesake, meeting with descendants of Maj. Gen. Clarence L. Tinker.
Col. Cisco Harris met with Isabel and Pepper Ramsey and their mother, Pamm, at the Charles B. Hall Air Park to reflect on Tinker’s history, contribution to the nation and talk about the importance of service.
Isabel and Pepper Ramsey are the great-great-great nieces of Tinker. Pamm Ramsey learned of Isabel and Pepper’s relation during her journey to adopt the sisters, as both Osage and Cherokee tribes worked with her to ensure they found a good home.
“Connecting with their family's story has filled them with pride and a sense of resilience,” Ramsey said. “Their heritage is a constant reminder of their own strength and their ability to build a wonderful future.”
During the adoption process, the elder sister changed her name to Isabel to pay honor to her great-great grandmother, Tinker’s cousin.
The girls loved seeing the air park and had lots of questions about aircraft.
During the visit, the Ramsey children presented Harris with a coin designed by their mother, a Tinker history book and a photo of Tinker from World War II.
“Tinker’s legacy is known not just in Oklahoma, but across the Air Force,” said Harris. “It’s my honor to meet with two direct descendants and know that his service to our nation inspires people more than 80 years later.”
Tinker AFB is named in honor of Maj. Gen. Clarence L. Tinker, a native Oklahoman who lost his life while on a combat mission near Wake Island during the Battle of Midway. Expanded histories of his life and career can be found [here](https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/article/1712834/major-general-clarence-l-tinker/) and [here](https://www.tinker.af.mil/Portals/106/Documents/History/Maj%20Gen%20Tinker.pdf?ver=pFbSNcA9jV9k7vjSjqw4Jw%3d%3d4328417).
The Oklahoma City Air Depot installation was designated Tinker Field Oct. 14, 1942, at the direction of Gen. Henry H. “Hap” Arnold, commanding general of the Army Air Forces. Tinker Field then became Tinker Air Force Base Jan. 13, 1948, shortly after the U.S. Air Force stood up as a separate branch of the military.