Posted by Jack Price on December 28, 1999:

Tom and I were close at the academy. We both were in the scuba and ski clubs. I was learning to ski downhill and Tom would spend long hours gliding around the Plain on cross country skis. He made it look so easy! We scuba dived together under the ice at Delafield Pond and spend a Christmas leave in Bermuda on the coral reefs. Tom was always ready for an adventure and delighted in being a co-conspirator. We had planned on being together at Fort Lewis so we could continue our sporting activities and explore the mountains, ocean, and women of the Pacific NW. He never made it. Tom was with us in Ranger School until the drop off the log at Victory Pond. He separated his shoulder on hitting the water and was recycled to the following class. He slipped into December and finally got his Ranger Tab for Christmas. This was back in the days when they turned you loose right after graduation and you hit the highway exhausted from three months of training. He was on the way back to DC to join the family and his girl friend. The interstate crosses the SC/GA border at a sweeping bridge. Tom didn't make the turn. He went over the side into the lake, was trapped in the car and drowned. When I arrived at Ft Lewis, I shipped his belongings back to his parents. Over the years, I've often wondered what Tom might have become. He had a sharp, angular face, with intense eyes that focused on the task at hand. He was interested in law enforcement and might have done very well. Or have been one hell of an infantry officer. I miss him. Strange he would die underwater where he was so comfortable. Jack

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