Tom Jimison Vaughn

West Point, 1963

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Brig. Gen. RM Ong (Ret) on May 22, 2017:

Memorial Day 2017 is a nice day to remember a classmate and friend. I met Tom early, during Beast Barracks when we found ourselves in the same 4th New Cadet Company. That 2-month period meant, for us, a rapid transition from civilian life to military life. For many of us, myself included, the change in lifestyle was traumatic to say the least. We had schedules to follow, information to memorize verbatim, brass and leather to polish daily, with little sleep and always on the double-time. But not Tom Vaughn. Nothing bothered him, because he learned these routines very quickly, which pleased the upperclass Cadets. This guy was always smiling, always helpful to others, and had words of encouragement for everyone. Tom was a big guy, very athletic and he never seemed to lack for energy or optimism. Somehow, I imagined that he would make an ideal career officer. I did not see much of Tom after Beast Barracks, because we were deployed to other Companies, but when we did meet, he always had a joyful greeting for me. I returned to the Philippines to serve in my Army and did not hear about Tom until long after I had retired. That was when I learned that Tom had changed his life's direction and gone to medical school to become an OB-GYN. And a very successful one at that. Now that I think about it, being an obstetrician -- and helping so many babies take their first breath of air -- was probably more to Tom's personality. The soldiers of the US Army may have missed out on serving under a great General, but thousands of American mothers found the right guy to attend to their newborn infants. Be thou at peace, Dr. Tom! Here is my final salute ... Ray Brigadier General Ramon M. Ong (Retired) Armed Forces of the Philippines USMA 1963

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