Jun 2, 2008

Tom's Ranger School Blog

I have been reading a blog written by a 1st Lutenient (Tom) that had gone through Ranger School. The blog narrates his time at Ranger school and it has really helped me follow along with what the guys are doing on a day to day basis. I have been diligently reading it everyday and trying to give myself a little bit of insight on what Reamer has been going through. I think that he(Tom--the blog author) probably had a journal in Ranger School and published it when he returned.

When I pulled it up today to find out what Reamer had in store for day 30, I noticed that there was an additional link to Tom's Ranger Blog. This link took me to another page with several more of Tom's journals that describe his entire time in the army. I was interested to find out more about him because I felt that by reading his Ranger School experiences, I had gotten to know him. In his account of Ranger School, he talks about his girlfriend and his family and his life's experiences. As I looked at his personal information I discovered that he had been blogging about the army and his life since he graduated West Point. I noticed that after Ranger School the next step of his journey was IRAQ. The final entry said that he had been advised to stop writing his blog because of security concerns. It sounded like the army told him to stop. I looked at the pictures he posted of his family and his girlfriend and felt a little closer to him. And in a way, reading Tom's Blog helps me feel closer to Reamer.

I have been very grateful to have this blog so that I can feel some form of closeness to my husband and everything that he is experiencing. I know that several other "army wives" are reading along as well.

I saw that Tom had a guest book on his webpage that you could sign and comment, so I thought it would be an opportune time for me to thank him for his insight and for sharing his experiences. As I read the comments from all of the other people that were his regular blog readers I started to feel anxious. As I read more and more I realized that Tom had been killed in Iraq. As I read on I saw condolences and messages concerning sorrow over his death. I uncontrollably felt tears welling up in my eyes and pit of my stomach just hit the ground. It felt like one of my friends had died. I know that I don't even know him, but I felt like his blog was bringing me closer to Reamer. After realizing that he died, it really hit me like a ton of bricks. The story that I had been reading for the past few weeks didn't have a happy ending. The person/blog that I was identifying my husband with had suddenly been taken from me. You never expect to read a such tragic ending but I guess, such is life. Here is part of his blog that I discovered today:


1st Lt. Thomas M. Martin, 27, of Ward, Ark., died Oct 14 in Al Busayifi, Iraq, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit using small arms fire during combat operations. He was assigned to 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division, Fort Richardson, Alaska.

Those of you who have been avid readers throughout the years know that Tom stopped updating his website in the summer of 2006 due to OPSEC concerns. Shortly after that he deployed to Southern Baghdad where he served as the Scout Sniper Platoon Leader for 1/40 CAV, 4/25 (ABN). Tom had been in Iraq for more than a year, participated in over 300 missions, and walked nearly 1000 kilometers when he was killed-in-action.
Although he stopped writing online updates when he deployed, Tom continued to send emails home and intended to post those messages to this site upon his return. In celebration of an incredible life and man, we are trying to fulfill his desire. We invite you to share in Tom’s last year through his email updates, and hope that by doing so he will continue to be remembered and maybe others will be inspired- to try a little harder, to push a little farther, and to live a little better.


I am going to continue reading along with Tom's Ranger School blog, and I encourage anyone who doesn't know what Ranger School really is to read along. It is amazing what these strong, brave, and mentally tough men go through to protect our country. After thinking about the meaning of everything that we go through as military spouses, friends and family it makes me feel proud to support these amazing men. I somehow feel a little less sorry for myself and realize that there is a much bigger picture. I'm so proud of Reamer and his strength to handle what he is going through. Here is a link to Tom's Blog: http://www.tommym1080.com/ Please pay a tribute the all of the men and women who have sacrificed their lives to ensure our safety as Americans!

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awesome link Meghan...I'm glad to have found it through you. You are such a strong person and you sound like you're doing just fine as a military wife:)

Anonymous said...

Thanks for sharing this Meghan. That is truly an awful way to find out about his death. That's what's so difficult and terrible about this war right now. Sometimes, we lose our close friends. So far this deployment, Nick and I have lost 3 very close friends. The pain I felt losing them doesn't even measure up to the pain their own families felt. I just can't imagine it. All I can do is pray it never happens to me, and never forget the ones that made the ultimate sacrifice. It's going to be a bittersweet moment when Nick's company returns home from Iraq. Out of four deployments, this is the first time the company won't be returning with all of it's soldiers.
It hits close to home, but we walk away with a higher sense of appreciation for what really goes on over there.
Thanks again for sharing. ;) Hang in there!
Love,
Jennie

Anonymous said...

wow, your blog caught my eye as I was googling up something in the military. I wanted to read the wikipedia definition of Ranger since I completed the school in 1990 (your husband will soon be familiar with the phrase of going through when the course was tough). Anyway the story of LT Martin caught my eyes and now I can barely see what I am typing as an immediate sense of grief and sadness overcame me. God bless men like your husband and LT Martin. And thank you for sharing the link and story.

Anonymous said...

Meghan, I came across this entry just today -- I realize it is several months old. Tom is my brother. Tomorrow is one year since he was killed and I've been spending a lot of time googling his name and his handle "tommym1080" to read about him and find people like you who have been touched by his life. It helps this week -- which is very tough on all of us. Thank you for your post. And my best to you, your brave husband and your family.

Lori said...

I too have been reading Toms blog about Ranger School and it has been of some comfort to me to be able to know what my boyfriend is going through on a day to day basis throughout the phases. He is currently in Florida Phase and I was anxiously awaiting Tom's continuance on that phase, which is how I found our posting and update.

I am shocked and terribly saddened to read your update of his death. I cant help but cry over the loss of a man I didnt know but whom seemed to be so incredibly awesome! His blog was hilarious, captivating, and witty and led you to feel as though you did know him.
Thank you Meghan for sharing.

Unknown said...

I just stumbled on this blog entry. Thank you for your kind comments about Tom. He was hilarious, captivating, and witty. He was a born leader. I feel as though I'm the lucky one, because I knew him longer than any one else.

Candy
(Tom's Mom)