As we’ve seen all too frequently, some of our nation’s best have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. What follows is a true story of courage, sadness, and ultimately hope -- and you can help honor a very good man by helping educate Afghan children.
Sergeant 1st Class John Thomas (Tom) Stone, a Vermont National Guard soldier stationed in Afghanistan, was killed by friendly fire in March 2006. 52 year-old Stone had first joined the Army in 1971.
According to the Burlington Free Press:
An infantryman and a medic, [Stone] offered sage wisdom and a dry sense of humor to those who served with him.
"He was always the voice of maturity," said Lt. Col. Jack Mosher, who served as Stone's former battalion commander and team leader in 2004, his second tour in Afghanistan. "Everywhere we went, we called him our adult supervision. He was a voice of reason, voice of maturity. He was never wrong! About anything! Even if you didn't want to agree with him."
Stone created a clinic in northern Afghanistan that, within six weeks, had treated more than 2,500 women and children, said Mosher, now director of operations for the Maine Army National Guard in Augusta. Children would approach him with extensive injuries and be calmed by his presence.
He didn't view them as maimed or injured, Mosher said. Children only saw the compassion in his eyes.
The Afghan people loved Stone, and Stone loved Afghanistan, Mosher said.
"He loved the Afghan people, the culture. It suited him, being there," Mosher said. "There was something about it he loved, beyond the mission, beyond everything else.
"The average person would look at this mud-walled village, with no sewer, health care or schools. He would see the future of Afghanistan," Mosher said. "He had a vision of humanity, the way things should be."
Sgt. Stone was a world traveler and lover of culture. His first enlistment in the Army was
at least partly inspired by the disappearance of his older brother and free-lance photographer, Dana Stone, in April 1970. Dana Stone disappeared in Cambodia, while on assignment. Tom Stone was a junior in high school, and friends said he thought of finding his brother when he enlisted.
He served for 18 years before deciding that he needed to take a break and see the world on his own schedule. After selling his house and car and condensing his life into a 40-pound backpack, he set out on April Fool's Day, 1992, to explore -- to walk the world.
Sgt. Stone spent the following 8 years walking the globe, all the while sending dispatches about his travels to schoolchildren at the Pomfret School in Vermont. When he returned to the U.S., Sgt. Stone re-enlisted in the Army.
Sgt. Stone’s partner Rose Loving has dedicated her energy to building a school in Afghanistan in Tom Stone’s honor. Her website, remembertomstone.net, reports that
We are raising money to build a school in Afghanistan in Tom's honor. It has and continues to be an amazing process that people want to support. It feels like everything Tom loved and believed in. And from the way it is evolving, I am sure he is smiling about it. The school will be in Herat Province, western Afghanistan. We don't have the exact site yet. It will be based on the need of the village and how much we raise will determined what we can do. It will be made of stone and concrete and have a metal roof. The village is required to donate materials or labor. All the info. is in the attached letter. I have a brochure also. The most important thing to remember is to make a donation by check, in the memo must be noted "Tom Stone School" if donation is made on line, a separate email must accompany it stating the same. This project is giving me so much strength to go forward. It is challenging emotionally, yes, but it means the world to me.
So far the effort has raised thousands of dollars. Rose Loving reports in her latest email that "We will continue to fundraise until June. Our goal now is to raise as much as possible by June."
If you are interested in contributing and have the means to do so, you may donate online or via check.
Please make your check to:
Direct Aid International
P.O. Box 394
Northfield, Vermont 05663
Memo line: "Tom Stone School"
To donate online using a credit card, visit http://www.directaidinternational.org.
Please accompany your online donation with an email to DAI stating that it is for the Tom Stone School.
If you are interested in further details about Sgt. Stone or Rose Loving, see http://www.remembertomstone.net/...
Many thanks, dKos community, for your interest.