At 83, Harold York is not making as many memories as he used to. He’s retired, residing at an assisted-living center and dealing with the inevitable exigencies of aging.

But the longtime Bend resident has lots of recollections to draw on and solid advice for teens or anyone who’d have the good sense to listen.

”Be dependable,” said York from an easy chair in his small room at Harmony Hills. ”When you go to get a job, work at it and put your best in it. If you don’t like it, quit. This world is full of opportunities. All you have to do is take it. I believe the world owes a man a living – if he works for it.”

York did.

He was born in Red Rock, Ark., ”way back in the sticks. They used to have to pump sunshine back in there.”

His farm family ended up in Oregon after a brief stint in Oklahoma. The Yorks learned of the golden opportunity that was Bend after some friends returned from the West for a visit.

”They told my dad about the sawmills and the hunting and fishing,” York recalled.

That sealed the deal. York spent three years at Bend High, worked for a year at the Brooks-Scanlon mill, then ”off to the war” he went.

York spent most of World War II in the Army Air Corps as a clerk/typist – part of the support crew. He wound up in the ”CBI,” the China-Burma-India theater and, despite his behind-the-scenes role, ended up with quite a war story.

York said his World War II experience came down to a few shining moments at an airfield in China. He and several other fly boys headed for Kwielin Air Base on verbal orders to ”help the soldier boys out,” in a scrape with Japanese troops, York said.

”We got our steel helmets, carbines and ammunition and hopped into Jeeps and trucks, and took off for Kwielin (from Chanyi),” he recalled.

It was there, York said, that he went straight from support staffer to the firing line in the blink of an eye.

”When we arrived there, the soldiers who were there to defend the air base were shot to pieces,” York wrote in a personal memoir.

York said he ended up putting his early training to use, manning a 50-caliber machine gun, enduring a bullet to the helmet and killing several enemy soldiers before they ”melted away.”

But, York said, given the verbal orders that placed him at Kwielin in the first place, the incident was never acknowledged.

”According to the history books, this never happened,” York said. ”I wasn’t even there.”

After the war, York re-enlisted in the United States Air Force, which he made a career, ending up as a senior master sergeant before his retirement in 1966.

That was the year he and wife Dorothy Faye returned to Central Oregon.

York worked as a millwright, served as a foreman at Hoodoo Ski Bowl, then managed a trio of service stations in Sisters before retiring for good.

He and Dorothy Faye, his wife of 59 years, have two children, Dee and Sandra.

”He worked real hard,” said Dorothy. ”I went with him to cut wood. He was raised on a farm, just like I was. We always had food on the table.”

But he wasn’t (and isn’t) all business. According to his wife, he’s always had a quick sense of humor and good timing.

”He can go on and on telling jokes,” said Dorothy. ”He can remember them. I can’t even remember how many jokes he’s told. He should have been a comedian.”

Although he contends health challenges have him ”wearing out,” York puts a positive spin on each day.

”I guess I’m better than some,” he said, smiling.

Then he rose from his chair and produced his Air Force uniform from a closet.

”I still wear it on Veterans Day,” he said. ”I’m proud to wear my uniform.”

And he’s proud of his military service.

”The service bends over backward to help you,” he said.