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Life story
Born in United States Virgina Beach, Virginia on March 18, 1970. Tommy moved to London, England with mom, dad and sister Jennie, July 1970. He Lived in England while Dad was stationed there in the Navy until November 1973. He moved to Flint, Michigan where he lived most of his life, except a year and half in Moline, Illinois when dad was layed off from Chevy in Flint in 1974.
As a child he played with Todd Beamer who was killed in Flight 93 at Shanksville, PA, Sept 11, 2001. Todd and Tommy never got to know each other as Todds family moved away from Flint at a young age. We however have maintained contact with Todds family over the years. Todd and Tommy are together again in the ultimate "Home".
Tommy attended Carmen/Ainsworth schools graduating from C/A high school in 1988. He set the record for the 400 meter relay which stood for years and was only broken by a few hunders of a second. He applied for the Naval Academy and was processed through, but do to quota limitations was not accepted.
Tommy attended freshman year at Milligan College in Tenessee '88-'89. He transferred to Virginia Military Institute in Lexington, Virginia in '89 and graduated with a BS in Electrical Engineering and a minor in math; Class of '93. After graduating he went to Fort Bragg, North Carolina to finish his training to become commissioned as a 2nd LT in the US Army. I pinned his bars and was the first enlisted man to salute him. He transferred to Michigan Army National Guard.
In September '93 he married Jennifer Elizabeth Edwards from Barre, Vermont whom he met while at VMI. She was a student at Randolph Macon Women's College in Lynchburg, Virginia. They moved to Flint, Michigan and worked as a manager at the Burger King on Miller Rd, while he applied for employment in the EE field. He was hired by Yazaki, NA and was employed with them between deployments with the Guard until his death.
He was supervising engineer working as an EE on the Dodge Viper project at Chrysler Motor Division. About nine months and one week after Tommy and Jen were married, Danielle Elizabeth was born. Three years and eight months later, Alexandra Nicole was born. Two beautiful girls that he left at ages 11 and 7 respectively. Tommy attended many military officer schools in his 11 year career in the Guard. He performed his 2 week active duty each year plus other volunteer service in parades and community functions. He was activated after September 11, 2001 on bridge security in Michigan co-ordinating manpower at Port Huron and the Sioux bridges until federal security was trained. In February 2004 He was mobilzed to the Sinia Pennisula in Egypt on peace keeping mission mandated by the UN years ago.
In January 2005 Tommy volunteered with the 155th Infantry, Mississippi Rifles out of Macomb, Mississippi in order to deploy to Iraq as part of Headquarters Company. His job was safe before he came home for two weeks in July, '05.
When he returned to Iraq at Iskandariyah he had volunteered to train the Iraqi National Guard, now the Iraqi Army. It was during this duty that he was killed by a snipers bullet six week later.
Captain Lowell T. Miller II loved the military. He told me, "dad you told us once you served so your children wouldn't have to, yet we do. You trained us well." "I serve so others don't have to."
My son was not ordered to Iraq by the president. He went out of his way to get to go, mainly because his younger brother Patrick had spent a year already in Iraq.
He was a soldier who was loved by his men and he loved them. He took care of his men, sometimes at his own expense. He was a cut above most officers.
Tommy now rest at Arlington National Cemetary in Virginia.
We miss you........