Publication:Chattanooga Times Free Press
Date:Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Section:Nation/World; Page:10

By Edward Lee Pitts
Military Affairs

FORWARD OPERATING BASE BERNSTEIN, Iraq -- At a ceremonial last roll call Tuesday, Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis Peck shouted Spc. Paul Thomason III's name and received no answer.

To the hundreds of 278th Regimental Combat Team's 2nd Squadron soldiers standing before him in silent formation here on the base's airfield, Sgt. Maj. Peck called Spc. Thomason's name a second and a third time.

Seven soldiers, each firing in the air three times, followed by a lone trumpeter playing taps provided the only audible response to the sergeant major's calls as the 2nd Squadron soldiers saluted in unison, honoring their fallen comrade.

More than 300 soldiers attended the hourlong outdoor memorial ceremony, including members of the Tennessee-based National Guard unit. Spc. Thomason was killed Sunday by a roadside bomb in the regiment's first combat fatality since it arrived in Iraq in December.

"I can say for myself that my homecoming will not be as sweet as I once thought it would be," said Capt. Karl Justice, who delivered the eulogy. "Losing a soldier is a terrible thing. Losing your brother is far ... worse."

Spc. Thomason, 37, of Jefferson City, Tenn., was killed in an attack by insurgents about 10 miles from Kirkuk during a convoy from Tikrit to Tuz, marking the first death of a 278th soldier since the Korean War.

Four other 278th soldiers were wounded in the ambush.

Soldiers on Tuesday marched in formation and paused for one final salute to Spc. Thomason before a symbolic display of empty boots in front of a weapon turned upside down. There were dog tags hanging from the trigger's handgrip and a Kevlar helmet resting on the barrel.

The line began with Maj. Gen. Joseph Taluto, the commander of the 42nd Infantry Division, who flew in for the ceremony. Patriotic and spiritual songs played softly in the background accompanied only by the orders for each unit to march and several flags flapping in the day's persistent wind.

"He had a quiet and unassuming manner with a quick smile and always did his best to accomplish whatever was asked of him," 2nd Squadron commander Lt. Col. Frank McCauley said of Spc. Thomason, 37.

The day of remembrance began long before the formal ceremony for the friends and co-workers of someone they called "Tall Paul." Many of the soldiers had worked with or seen Spc. Thomason nearly every day since the regiment activated for this deployment last June.

Gathered in an office around plywood shelves and desks built by Spc. Thomason, four 278th members in his unit called the fallen soldier the squadron's local carpenter.

"He always liked to build stuff," said Spc. Benny Amos, 24, of Blountville, Tenn.

Spc. Thomason brought his own tools from home and during his free time built walls, desks, lockers and nightstands for the soldiers stationed here, giving their lives a small touch of personal comfort. Spc. Thomason also built a 5-foot wooden cross for the squadron's chapel.

Sgt. 1st Class John Keen said Spc. Thomason held a variety of jobs for the squadron during its first three months in Iraq. He escorted Iraqi workers around the base, often helping them with their projects, worked the night shift at the unit's command center, and he sometimes went into the nearby town of Tuz to pay claims Iraqis made for U.S.-caused property damage.

"He thrived on responsibility," said Sgt. David Crews, 44, of Memphis. "He wanted you to give him something to do."

About three weeks ago, Spc. Thomason volunteered to become the squadron's liaison soldier at Forward Operating Base Speicher in Tikrit.

There he helped ferry soldiers back and forth from leave, rest-and-relaxation breaks or medical visits. He was taking soldiers back to Forward Operating Base Bernstein on Sunday morning when a roadside bomb exploded underneath his vehicle's armored cab.

The soldiers said Spc. Thomason lived for his wife and four children. Spc. Thomason always was buying toys here to send home to his children, Sgt. Crews said. Pictures of Spc. Thomason's family wallpapered the soldier's room.

"There wasn't a day that went by that he didn't talk about his kids," Spc. Amos said.

The students from a daughter's second-grade class wrote Spc. Thomason here. Sgt. 1st Class Keen said Spc. Thomason answered every letter, including one from a boy who wrote nothing but questions on so many sheets of paper stapled together they unfolded to a length taller than Spc. Thomason's nearly 6-foot-4-inch frame.

Spc. Thomason joined the 278th in 2000. Originally a member of G Troop from Greeneville, Tenn., he was assigned to administrative work with the squadron's headquarters unit when this deployment began.

Sgt. 1st Class Keen said Spc. Thomason, who spent time in the Air Force, took online Army courses here for college credit while working the night shift.

Soldiers with the 2nd Squadron said they were stunned Sunday by the news of Spc. Thomason's death.

"A part of each one of us was taken away that day," Sgt. Crews said.

They said the loss is a slap-in-the-face reminder of how dangerous Iraq can be, something easily forgotten amid the frequent sight of children running up to and waving at U.S. convoys.

"It really hit home that one of your guys has been taken from you," said Sgt. Frank Hutchins, 34, of Kingsport, Tenn. "It makes you appreciate life and enjoy it while you have it."

But the soldiers agreed that Sunday's attack does not mean the regiment should hold back on efforts to help the Iraqi people establish peace.

"The ones that did that are trying to cause problems," Sgt. 1st Class Keen said. "They are trying to do their best to turn us against everybody in the country."

On this blue-skied and breezy day, the 2nd Squadron soldiers began assembling on the airfield's concrete runway more than an hour before the memorial service.

Earlier, Iraqi soldiers who share the base here with the 278th paid respects to the regiment by providing a catered lunch cooked by an Iraqi officer's wife. The Iraqis said they have lost two soldiers themselves since Sunday.

Col. Dennis Adams, the 278th regimental commander, praised the efforts of 278th soldiers in Sunday's convoy who shrugged off injuries to fight back the attacking insurgents and administer aid to Spc. Thomason in the face of gunfire.

Spc. Shawn Hall, who received head injuries during the attack, returned fire on the insurgents, according to initial eyewitness accounts.

Spc. David Orlandini, a 278th medic whose foot was mangled in the ambush, crawled from the vehicle to administer medical care to two of the injured soldiers, eyewitnesses said.

Officials did not release the names of the two other injured soldiers.

Amanda Thomason, Spc. Thomason's wife, said Tuesday that reservists called to tell her of the memorial service in Iraq.

"It's been hard, but the outpouring of support has been tremendous," she said.

She said Spc. Thomason will be buried in Knob Creek Cemetery in Sevier County, his birthplace.

"Depending on what they have to do with him, it could be three, four or five days, and then he's coming home," she said.

Col. Adams said Tuesday his thoughts are with Spc. Thomason's family.

"May they be comforted each day by God and each other," he said. "May they understand the sacrifice that their father has made for their country."

Staff writer Candice Combs contributed to this story.

E-mail Lee Pitts at lpitts@timesfreepress.com

U.S. Army Photo by Staff Sgt. Russell Lee Klika Soldiers with the 278th Regimental Combat Team’s 2nd Squadron present a final salute Tuesday to Spc. Paul Thomason III.

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