On June 29, 1956 a baby was born in Abilene, Texas. He was given the name Bill Winton. His mother was a student in college. She came from a rural area of Oklahoma and was raised in a strict religious family. The father of this child was unaware of the child’s birth. He was a drifter from Illinois, working his way across the country, trying to get to California.
They had met in 1955. He was a happy-go-lucky, balls-to-the-wall, nothing standing in my way kind of man. They dated and fell in love. When the urge to move on came over him he asked her to go with him. She didn’t hear a wedding proposal in the request so she said no.
Not long after he left she found out that she was pregnant. There was no way to locate him. She was scared. Her family would never understand. She went home for Christmas break. And told no one.
She gave birth alone. No friends or family by her side. She couldn’t bear to see her newborn child. And she didn’t. She knew that she was not in any position to raise a child. She knew she only had one choice. She gave the baby up for adoption. Three days later a middle-aged couple stationed at Dyess AFB took custody of the baby outside the hospital.
In about 1968 I learned that I was that child. My parents told me that I was adopted after dinner one night. To me it was no big deal. It wasn’t an Earth shattering moment. I loved my parents, siblings and the life I had. Just another day. But I remembered the little details. Forever. My birthmother’s name was Radell Winton. She had been a student at Abilene Christian University. We never spoke of this conversation ever again.
But, all through my life I wondered. Who am I? Why am I here? Who are my “parents”? Do I have any brothers and sisters? What might have been my life if I hadn’t been adopted? Where would I be now. What would I be doing? Are there any medical issues that I need to know about? By this time I now have a daughter. The ONLY blood relative in my life.
In 1993, while in the Air Force, I retrained to operations intelligence. The tech school was at Goodfellow AFB. Not far from Abilene. One day I went to the college library and searched out the yearbooks. For the first time in my life I have a picture of my “mother”! And the yearbook is still in it’s place….minus that picture! I continued searching and found an alumni book. There she is. An address and phone number!
It took me two weeks to gather the nerve to call the number. What do I say? I finally called and a woman answered the phone. It wasn’t her. It was her daughter. I have a sister! I left her my number but not my name.
Two weeks later I got the call. The curiosity got the better of her. I asked her if June 29, 1956 meant anything to her. There was silence. Deafening silence. Except for the sound of my heart pounding in my ears. And she finally spoke. “Don’t EVER call me again!”
I was heart broken. Devastated. Rejected. Again.
In 1999, while stationed at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, I tried again. This time with a letter. I told her that I didn’t want to intrude on her life. That I wasn’t looking for, or wanting, anything from her. That I wasn’t wanting to know the circumstances of her getting pregnant. That I did have a daughter, her granddaughter. I included my mini biography of my life… where I’d lived growing up (5 States and 1 foreign country), where I’d lived while in the US Air Force (again, 5 States and 1 foreign country), what I was doing, etc. Most importantly, was there anything I needed to know about our medical history?
But I also attempted to pull on her heart strings. I sent her pictures. About twelve pics of me through the years from infancy up to that date.. And my phone number.
About a month later I got a call from her. I was ecstatic! She was living in Oklahoma where she was born and raised. We talked about 3-4 times a week until she came to Alaska for Thanksgiving! It was a fantastic reunion! And everyone on the plane knew about it. People that we didn’t know were taking pictures in the terminal!
She was there for a week and we talked about everything. I was a secret that she had kept from everybody. But she had told her entire family about me by this time. I was no longer a secret. I found out that I have TWO sisters! She brought a lot of pictures. She gave me her grandfather’s pocket watch. And her uncle’s Purple Heart that he received for wounds at Normandy. She was still married to the man that abandoned her and her children 30+ years prior. And we talked about my birthfather. And I finally saw a picture that she had kept!! I got all the info that would help me find him.
I joined a network of adoptees that helps one another track down leads. Back then government agencies were posting everything that wouldn’t be posted today. One of them found where he lived in Florida. But he wasn’t there. He was a cropduster and traveled all over the world. But the people that lived there were taking care of his son when he traveled. I have a brother!!
The internet is a wonderful thing. And scary. In public information I found his driver’s license, pilot’s license, medical history, address, phone number, vehicle registrations, etc.
I finally caught him at home on the phone. I asked him if he remembered Radell Winton. He said yes and that was many years ago. I told him he might want to sit down if he wasn’t already. I told him that I was his son by Radell. “Holy shit! Holy shit!” LOL!!
We talked for awhile and he told me that his wife had been murdered in Texas about 15 years ago. I gave him Radell’s phone number. They talked several times a day for the next few weeks. He then went to see her in Oklahoma. After a couple of months he went back to Florida, got his son and moved to Oklahoma.
In 2000 I retired from the US Air Force while in Alaska and made the long journey to Georgia. With stops in California and then Oklahoma. There I met my new extended family, my birthfather and new siblings. After being a secret for 44 years there was a huge family reunion in Oklahoma to welcome me into the family!
A few days after arriving in Oklahoma there was a wedding. I had the honor of walking my birthmother down the aisle to marry my birthfather before a packed church! My new found brother was the best man. My new found sisters were the maids of honor. And when the preacher asked who gives this woman to this man my brother, sisters and I said in unison “We do!”.
Mother’s Day was approaching. My birthmother had a good friend who was a reporter for the local paper. She told her the story and wanted to interview us for the newspaper for a Mother’s Day story. We did the interview and after leaving Oklahoma and driving to Georgia I realized it was the kind of story that much bigger news media might pick up on. I had never told my adoptive mother anything about my search. So I had to tell her when we arrived in Georgia. Couldn’t have her find out through an AP story in the local paper. She was completely OK with it and happy for me.
My “new” family and I have a good relationship. We exchange calls and cards. I have been to Oklahoma to see them and my birthparents have come to Georgia. My adoptive mother met them and all was great. My birthmother is really into genealogy. Big time. So I now know where I come from. (Traced back to the British Isles around 900 AD.)
My adoptive dad passed away in 1992. I wish I could thank the air crew of the C-130 that delayed their departure from Iceland so that my family could hitch a ride to the States. They were already taxiing for takeoff. My adoptive mom passed away in 2016. My birthmother passed away 2021. My daughter, her husband and her 2 sons flew to Florida in 2024 to meet my birthfather. My birthfather passed away in 2025. I was fortunate to be there for each of their passings. It really sucks to lose 4 parents.
But I feel that I’m very fortunate that my birthmother decided to give up her child. And that I was adopted by a loving military family. I have seen things, and done things, and met people that the “typical” American family never has the opportunity to experience. And for that I am extremely grateful. I love you “Mama”.
*******
I asked the author of this life story for his permission to publish it in Tolley’s Topics. He emailed me his story and I am very thankful for his approval to post it. I cried at some points as he told me about his life. I smiled at other times. In the end, the smiles won. He showed me the picture of his birthmother, Radell Winton. She is a Beautiful Lady.
Sheila Tolley
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