Wells was listed on his birth certificate as "Jr.," but when he entered the Marine Corps he substituted "3rd" for ,"Jr." on his enlistment papers. This was a natural conclusion as his grandmother, Mrs. Wells L. Field, was living at the time, which made his father "Jr" and he became the "3rd.” Some difficulty was encountered getting this straightened out with the Marine Corps. As he bore the same name as his father he was called "Tim" at home, nicknamed after a lovable and talented uncle of his grandfather's who was lost at sea while still quite young. Due to rotation of duties of his father, he attended eight schools in the course of his education, before graduating from Granby High School in Norfolk, Virginia, in June 1950. He was enrolled at William and Mary College but due to the Korean conflict he did not enter as scheduled. During his school days he played hockey, lacrosse and football, breaking his right wrist twice in one football season at Granby High.

He joined the Marine Corps Reserve on 15 December 194?, and was called to active duty 29 August 1950. For the next two years he was stationed at Norfolk, Virginia; Parris Island, South Carolina; Camp Le Jeune, North Carolina; and the Marine Corps Base, San Diego, California, advancing through the grades to Staff Sergeant. He was selected to attend the Officers Candidate School in Quantico, Virginia, from which he graduated 9 August 1952 as a Second Lieutenant USMCR. On the same day he received his promotion to Technical Sergeant. He resigned his commission as Second Lieutenant USMCR in May 1953 in order to accept a like commission in the regular Marine Corps. He advanced through the grades to Lieutenant Colonel, to which he was promoted on 1 October 1969. His duties as an officer took him to Quantico, Virginia; Camp Pendleton, California, where in 1954 he was Aide-de-Camp to General George Franklin Good who happened to be his father's roommate at the Naval Academy; Washington, D.C., where he was a recruiting officer; Springfield, Massachusetts, where he was Inspector-Instructor of a USMCR Unit. His overseas duties consisted of a tour in Japan and Korea 1953-4; in Beirut, Lebanon, during the Civil Insurrection July-September 1958; and again in Korea in 1960-1. On 8 August 1965 he and Charlotte Ann (Robinson) Dean were married in Virginia Beach, Virginia, and at the same time he gained a young daughter, Sarah Kimberly Dean, called Kim for short. They resided for awhile in Quantico, Virginia, but were transferred to Camp Pendleton, California, early the following year, where they had Government quarters in Oceanside, California.

From March to December 1966 he was Logistics Officer (S-4) on the Staff of Commander Regimental Landing Team 26 in Camp Pendleton and Okinawa. From 10 December 1966 to 22 July 1967 he served with the 2nd Battalion 4th marines 3rd Division during operations in Vietnam, first as Operations Officer (S-3), then Executive Officer, and finally as Commanding officer of the Battalion. On 19 July while on it combat mission lie was wounded in his left foot by enemy mortar fire following an enemy ambush. He was evacuated from the combat zone by a CH 34 Medical Evacuation helicopter to a Field Hospital, thence to Japan for a short hospitalization, and finally arrived at the Base Hospital, Camp Pendleton, on 26 July. Here he was hospitalized and underwent two operations to repaired the severed nerves and tendons in his Achilles heel, neither of which proved successful. He was discharged from the hospital in June 1968 and while waiting for orders served as Special Projects Officer for the Logistics Officer (G-4) on the Staff of the Base Commander. Besides receiving the Order of the Purple Heart because of his combat wound, he was awarded the Bronze Star, a copy of that citation follows. In addition he wears the following medals; National Defense 1950- with one star- Korean Service 1953; Armed Forces Expeditionary 1958 (Lebanon); Vietnamese Service with two stars; United Nations 1950--, Vietnamese Campaign 1960-; as well as Good Conduct, Expert Rifle and Expert Pistol.

In July 1968 he reported to the Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, Illinois, where he assumed Command of the Brig. His title was later changed to Correctional Officer, Naval Training Center Correctional Center. He was in charge of all aspects of the Brig which averaged about 450 Inmates, the number fluctuated greatly as there always was a very large turnover. For his service there he received a Letter of Commendation, a copy of which follows. During his tour of duty at Great Lakes he resided in nearby Lake Bluff. On 14 September 1976 he was relieved of all active duty and transferred to the Temporary Disability Retired List, and honored with the "Pass in Review Retirement Ceremony," which is a most impressive Marine tradition. He was transferred from the Temporary Retired List to the "Retired List by Reason of Permanent Physical Disability as of 1 February 1973, copy of orders follow. He was In the Marine Corps 25 years I month and 16 days, of which 22 years 6 months and 27 days were in active service,

Upon retirement Wells and Charlotte decided to move south to escape the cold weather which adversely affected his wounded foot. Prior to leaving Lake Bluff he had accepted a position as manager of a research food production plant in Dallas, Texas, to which city they moved and settled at 7028 Spring Valley Road. The work seemed petty in relation to his former responsibilities in the Marine Corps, so after a few years he decided to try a venture on his own. He then entered into a partnership with another man and f6rmed the H & F Custom Manufacturing Company, which custom made contemporary metal furniture. The partnership was dissolved after a few years due to irreconcilable differences between Wells and his partner. He then decided to complete his college education which had been aborted at the start of the Korean War. He majored in Industrial Arts with a minor in Secondary Education as he was considering entering the teaching field. He graduated "Magna Cum Laude” from the North Texas State University in December 19?6 with a B.S. degree. At the same time he received his teaching certificate, having spent the last semester of his senior year teaching at the Richardson West Junior High School. From January to June 1977 he taught Drafting at the Berkner High School in Richardson, Texas. That summer and fall he furthered his education by working towards a Master's degree at NTSU, and also during the fall semester he taught at the University on a Teaching Fellowship. He continued working towards his Master's in the Spring of 1978 and in addition took a course in Real Estate. At that time he received an offer of a good position as Property Manager with the Trammel Crow Development Company in Dallas, which he accepted and joined that company 3l May. Wells interest were many and mostly athletic, such as golf, tennis, racquet ball, snow and water skiing, flying, scuba and sky diving, and at one time he was a lacrosse official.