Dixon reflects on 39 years of service

Retired Maj. Gen. Henry Dixon knew that he didn’t know it all. Being willing to learn and ask questions and realizing that he did not have to have all the answers carried the Dixon native through a 39-year career in the Illinois National Guard that recently ended in his retirement. “I don’t have to be an expert on everything. I just have to know - what do the experts need in order for them to do what is asked of our organization?” Dixon said. That quality was highlighted by his former commander, Maj. Gen. (ret.) Richard Hays, former Adjutant General of the Illinois National Guard, at Dixon’s Sept. 19 retirement ceremony in Champaign.“His strength was never pretending to know everything. His strength was asking the right questions, listening carefully, learning quickly and adapting faster than everyone else,” Hays said. For Dixon, a career in the military was never in doubt. “Having a family background that is strong with military service on my mother’s side and my father’s side, that w