In Loving Memory of Jim "Sawda" Gillum (1958-2022) of Sanctum of Rall

[Artemis.8034]

Your watch has ended and your battles are over, fly thee to thy rest and glory! 

 

I created that line above but feel free to use it for any memorial to him 

 I want to pay tribute to him with something beautiful and epic at the same time. Hope he would have liked it its an epic journey of a song for an epic hero.

 

Edited June 19, 2022 by Artemis.8034

[sylvariherald.3901]

I have tried to start this post twice already but I cannot stop myself from tearing up.

 

Sawda was my friend and my mentor.  In private chat he was just Jim, and "Mr. Sawda" on map/team chat.

 

When I first got into WvW, he took me under his wing and taught me the basics of the game mode, it was him who inspired me to become a scout for SoR and our commanders. It was because of him that I started hanging out at NC to protect it from invaders. 

 

I will always treasure the countless times he and I died together, repaired walls together, built siege together, roamed together, and the countless times we were able to defeat invaders and save camps together for our server. If he was on map but was elsewhere, I could always count on him to come to my aid whenever I would call out for help. 

 

I will miss Jim for as long as I live. I will miss his kindness, his sunny disposition, his fun and witty personality and his drive to help others, which was very refreshing in a game mode like WvW.

 

I join others on this post in asking ArenaNet to add an eagle named after Sawda at NC, standing guard perpetually, watching over the camp, and over us.

 

I will be at the memorial tonight, I would not miss it for the world.

 

Rest in peace my friend, I will forever be thankful to you for enriching my life and for helping me to become a better person.

 

~Gomplin.

[Hafwen.4325]

Condolences from a fellow scout. 😥

Even though it's been over a year since TC and SOR were paired, I remember Sawda's name and seeing him out in the BLs.

Hafwen, TC Scout

Edited June 21, 2022 by Hafwen.4325

[Foghladha.2506]

I posted the video for those that couldn't make it. Thank you to everyone who came out. It was a beautiful sendoff.

[Zera.9435]

We all go to the mists soon enough. See you on the other side, fellow pact commander.

[Shadow Miracle.8093]

Has a Commander it is hard to express our gratitude to all the scouts and even if sometimes it feels like we are ignoring your call, rest assure we are not, but have to evaluate what make sense for us to bring 25 or 40 ppl to a location.

Some Scouts complain because 2 red dots where not dealt with and the commander should respond to everything, we even get insulted and bad mouth from certain people, but Sawda understood and kept doing the job he loved day after day for many years. Never insulting, never complaining, never bad mouthing, but with Respect, dignity and love for his fellow players. I didn't start in SoR but was on JQ for many year, but this is the 2nd time on SOR and I recall Sawda always being the same. This time around it made me appreciate him more since Anet changed a lot of critical mechanism suppressing the need for real scouts.

Yet Sawda, kept doing it the same way, no matter the fact the camps, towers and keeps get upgraded automatically, or for the watch towers, granted these probably made him a bit richer since he didn't have to pay for upgrades anymore, but the relevant information needed by commanders to assess, should I bring the squad to defend or not, has always been there and Sawda just understood the need to communicate the proper information and never got mad if the commander's decision was to not respond to the call. He never got tired of it and was proud to be a scout. I will miss him very much, thank you for your example and support all these years.

Anet, please help us honor his memory with the requested Eagle 'Sawda', thank you

Shadow [Myst] WvW Commander

Edited June 21, 2022 by Shadow Miracle.8093

[Susan Michael.9236]

My heart has been heavy since finding out about Sawda. He truly was a wonderful scout and player in wvw. He demonstrated character,  respect and was trustworthy. His family has my thoughts and prayers. I truly hope he'll get an eagle to represent his continued presence with us in wvw. Rest in Peace Sawda you will be missed. 

[NiaGrey.6947]

My partner and I had first fought along side Sawda in DAOC, defending the frontiers and the relics (me as Nia Grey and my partner as Goleudydd and Kaytie, that was even before my partner and I first ran into and with Foghladha on Nimue{me as Devona Mothersbaugh of Domus Eriu}) I had been wondering where he had been and Gomplin mentioned "Sawda's Camp" and a search found this.  What a gut punch.  There is a Sawda sized hole in both my partner's and my hearts now.  I'm deeply saddened that no longer will Sawda and Inger charge headlong into battle against impossible odds together.  Farewell my friend. 

[klove.4980]

Sad to learn about the loss of "Sawda" through the Gaiscioch's newsletter.  Such a heroic player, faithful and dedicated scout to the Sanctum of Rall server.  He will be greatly missed. 

I'm adding my vote for ArenaNet to please give him the "Sawda Eagle" tribute in remembrance of his loyalty to the SoR community.  Thank you.

-Klove / Air One Com-

Edited July 1, 2022 by klove.4980

[Djedefre.6803]

I just returned to GW2 and WvW and found out about Sawda's passing. My heart is broken. He was a great friend and I always looked forward to seeing and chatting with him. Rest in Peace my friend. It will never be the same without you.

- Tacoplasm