Photo By Staff Sgt. Kai Jensen | Aynsley Thomson stands in front of the casket of her late father, Army Reserve Lt....... read more read more
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SALT LAKE CITY — At 6 feet, 6 inches tall, he was an imposing figure with multiple nick names due to his size. He was also a natural leader and due to his own integrity and character, he never needed to demand respect, he simply earned it. His first concerns were always for those around him, and due to his own regard for nature and life, he refused to even kill bugs in his own home instead choosing to catch them and let them go outside, a trait that he passed on to his two young girls age 7 and 4.
Those that knew him called him a “gentle giant.”
Army Reserve Lt. Col. Todd Douglas Thomson, 42, from Hamilton, Virginia, was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery, Virginia, July 1, 2015 in front of family and friends.
After a long battle with cancer, Thomson passed away peacefully March 13, 2015 while surrounded by his family and, as per his wishes, was approved to be buried next to his fellow soldiers at Arlington.
“He loved the army, he absolutely loved it,” said Robyn Thomson, Todd’s widow and mother to his two children. “He wanted to be around his fellow Soldiers who have served. It was something that was honorable and his other big concern was that he wanted to have a place where his daughters could come and see him and know that it was special.”
Thomson joined the Army Reserve as a private first class in 1994 and then, after graduating in 1997 from West Virginia University with a bachelor’s degree in communications, commissioned through the West Virginia Military Academy as a second lieutenant. He furthered his military and civilian education by completing the Transportation Officer Basic Course and receiving a Master of Business Administration degree from Frostburg State University.
During his more than 20 years serving in the Army, Thomson served as commander of the 309th Transportation Company, which he mobilized to Fort Mcguire-Dix-Lakehurst, N.J., in 2003 in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, served as primary logistics staff officer for the 11th Psychological Operations Task Force in Baghdad in 2008, where he was awarded the Bronze Star for meritorious service, and was scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan to support the Defense Logistics Agency in 2013, but was canceled due to the discovery of him having cancer.
Thomson was also selected to become a battalion commander in 2014 but upon finding out that his illness was terminal, chose to decline the offer.
His awards included the Bronze Star Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal with one Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Achievement Medal with one Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal with three Bronze Oak Leaf Clusters, National Defense Service Medal with one Bronze Star, Iraq Campaign Medal with Bronze Campaign Star, Global War on Terror Service Medal, Armed Forces Reserve Medal with 20 year device, Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon, Army Reserve Component Overseas Training Ribbon, Joint Meritorious Unit Award with one Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster, German Armed Forces Proficiency Badge Silver, and he was posthumously awarded the Legion of Merit.
“He was very reserved, very poised and had excellent character,” said Capt. Jeremy R. Sims, headquarters and headquarters commander for the DLA Army Reserve Element. “He walked with an air of leadership and he didn’t have to say much but when he did say something it really mattered.”
On Dec. 28, 2014, Thomson was given the diagnosis that he had approximately three months left to live but this didn’t stop him from being a father, husband and leader. He immediately began making preparations to ensure that his family and Soldiers would be taken care of and he was still working right up until he passed away.
“Up until two weeks before his death he was still calling me and saying ‘I’m still working on this [officer evaluation report]’,” said Sgt. Maj. (retired) Adam Smith, DLA Energy Military Support Branch. “So he was still working and still checking on his troops. He was always putting others first.”
When not working, Thomson enjoyed traveling with his family and playing outside in the garden with his daughters. Any opportunity to go hiking or to the beach was a good family outing in their minds and during his last summer they made sure to make the best of it by taking their daughters to Williamsburg and Jamestown.
Before he passed, Robyn made the promise that even with him gone she would still make sure that their girls would get to travel and see new places, a promise she intends to keep.
“My thoughts are that when we go on these trips, I will include him so that he’ll always be with us,” said Robyn, his wife of more than 15 years. “He was a special person. You don’t find people with that type of integrity, he was transparent and what you saw was what you got with him.”
| Date Taken: | 07.14.2015 |
| Date Posted: | 07.15.2015 00:19 |
| Story ID: | 170047 |
| Location: | SALT LAKE CITY, UT, US |
| Hometown: | HAMILTON, VA, US |
| Web Views: | 390 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Husband, father, Soldier laid to rest at Arlington, by SSG Kai Jensen, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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