SALT LAKE CITY — In January of 1969, 32-year-old Ray Bills left his five young sons and devoted wife to serve for 11 months in Vietnam.

A captain in the United States Army, assigned to the 25th Infantry Division in Cu Chi, his job in the war was not an easy or pleasant one.

Bills began his tour as the assistant division chemical officer and was soon promoted to division chemical officer. Because of his experience and Ph.D. in botany, Bills spent the latter part of his tour based in Saigon where he oversaw herbicide investigations all over Vietnam.

Before he left home, this loving father made every effort to establish an important tradition of regularly reading to his boys.

"My wife and I decided early on that I would read to the boys every night. Not only was this fun, but it established a strong bond and made them familiar with my voice," Bills said.

His wife, Mary Jo, added, "I would sneak up the stairs, sit outside the room and listen to Ray reading to the boys. Those were precious moments."

Despite the more than 8,000 miles that Capt. Bills' assignment placed between him and his boys, he did not stop reading stories.

With a portable reel-to-reel tape recorder in hand, Bills sat in his small cubicle room in his hooch and read either the few children's books he packed along or told stories from memory.

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"I had a few books with me," he recalled. "'Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle,' 'Steve The Steam Shovel' and 'Uncle Remus.' I would also record stories from memory like 'Sleeping Beauty' and other fairy tales."

The hooch, a long, narrow building with screen walls, was often humid and cramped — the accommodations simple. But with his recorder in hand, a long-distance father felt close to his sons and enjoyed a welcome reprieve from the grisly matters of war.

"I knew the boys needed to hear my voice and I needed to feel connected to them. Some of the other guys thought I was crazy, sitting in my room reading kid stories, but I didn't care what they thought."

Once a week, Bills mailed the tapes back home to his family, living in Utah at the time. Mary Jo remembered, "We had a picture of Ray in the boys' room so that they could see him as they listened to the tapes. It was important for all the boys to listen, but extra important for the two youngest, only 3 and 1 years old at the time their dad left."

When his tour was finally over, Bills returned home to his family.

"Everyone picked me up at the airport," he said. "When we got in the car, I drove. Mary Jo sat in the passenger seat and our youngest, Tom, only 2 years old, sat between us. At first that little guy wanted nothing to do with me and when I tried to put my arm around him he scooted closer to his mother."

"So I just kept talking to him," Bills continued, "He watched me carefully and I could see his mind working. The more I talked, the more comfortable Tom became."

His voice thick with emotion, Bills finished, "Soon he was right next to me. He recognized my voice because of my recordings, and because of those stories my son remembered his father."

Ray Bills, now a retired army colonel, is my grandfather. His story is a powerful reminder that a parent reading to a child is priceless. Our time and effort with our children can have far-reaching effects beyond teaching them to read. Grandpa is one of my reading heroes and I have very fond memories of him reading "Steve the Steam Shovel" to me as well. Thank you, Grandpa, for your stories.

Veteran's Day is Nov. 11. A warm and sincere thank you to all who have or do serve our country.

Teri Harman writes and reads from home amid the chaos of three young children. For book reviews, book suggestions and more book fun, visit book- matters.com. Find Teri on Facebook (Book Matters-Teri Harmon) or Twitter (@BookMattersTeri)

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