Posted by Marvin Dyke on July 13, 2003:

Tom Witt was my roommate during plebe year. He was a great friend and also my sponsor throughout my preparation for my Catholic confirmation. We laughed together, studied together, spazzed together, and went to mass together. Tom was a natural leader and I'm sure we all learned something from being around him. He was the ultimate team player and always put the interests of others before himself. I can recall so many incidents when he helped me get ready for a parade . . .I'd come back late from class and he'd already have my uniform already laid out on my bed. Other times, we'd be rushing to get ready for breakfast formation and he'd be dressed reading the headlines from the NY Times aloud so we'd be prepared for our team leaders. One of my fondest memories was actually a prank we played on Tom. He always forgot to wind his alarm clock and as a result it would run slow and go off in the wee hours of the morning. It was the night before a "B" saturday and our CO scheduled a company fun run. Our squad leader popped his head in at TAPs and gave us the responsibility of waking him in time for the run. Tom jumped on that task and set his alarm for 5:20am. We wound his clock ahead an hour so it would actually go off at 4:20am. Sure enough, as soon as it went off, he sprung out of bed (off the top bunk with a loud thud), threw on his Gym A, and promptly went next door to wake our squad leader. We went back to bed, but we could hear the yelling next door. He came in and said "Guys, what time do you have?" "4:20 Tom, you forgot to wind the clock again!" We later confessed and we all had a great laugh over the incident. He never got mad, but just laughed at himself. He also never forgot to wind his clock again though. These are the memories that last a lifetime. I will treasure the times we spent together, the laughter we shared, the stressful times, and the joyous times. I know he's with God and he's watching over for his family and his classmates. Tom lives on in our hearts and our memories. Eternal rest grant on to his soul O' Lord, and let light perpetual shine upon him. Marvin Dyke

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