OAK ISLAND - Thomas James Kemmer was born in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, on April 21, 1931, to Thomas and Rose Flaherty Kemmer. Tom was baptized at St. Paul's Cathedral, Pittsburgh, Pa., on December 21, 1934. At the young age of 17, Tom enlisted in the U.S. Army on March 1, 1949, while living in Miami, Florida. After completion of Basic Infantry Training and Advanced Infantry Training, he was assigned to Battery C, 125th Field Artillery Battalion, Ft. Rucker, Alabama. He experienced his first combat tour during the Korean War. He knew then his calling in life was to be a professional soldier. He reenlisted on August 21, 1952, while assigned to Mortar Battery, 504th Airborne Infantry, 82nd Airborne Division, Ft. Bragg, N.C. He again reenlisted on June 21, 1960, while assigned to Company B, 5th Special Forces Group (Abn). He completed the U.S. Naval Underwater School in Key West, Fla., in 1962 and was sent to Vietnam as an advisor shortly thereafter. On July 16, 1963, he was wounded in a mortar attack while serving in Can Tho, South Vietnam. In 1965, he returned to Ft. Bragg and in 1967 completed the High Altitude Low Opening (HALO) Course and in 1968 completed the Vietnamese Language Course at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California. During his second tour in Vietnam, he was the Team Sergeant for Special Forces Operational Detachment A-502. In 1970, he was selected to participate in a top secret operation known as the Son Tay Raid. There were 56 Green Berets selected to participate in this rescue operation to free American Prisoners of War being held in a North Vietnamese prison located just 23 miles west of the capital of North Vietnam. He was one of 14 members in the Blueboy element that landed inside the prison compound. As a direct result of his actions during this operation, he was awarded the coveted Distinguished Service Cross (our Nation's 2nd highest award for Valor). He retired after completing 28 years on March 31, 1977, as the Command Sergeant Major, 5th Special Forces Group (Abn), Ft. Bragg, North Carolina. Following retirement, Tom was employed by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and later fulfilled his lifelong love of the sea as a boat captain.

His military awards and decorations include Distinguished Service Cross, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal, Bronze Star Medal (2nd Oak Leaf Cluster), Army Commendation Medal (2nd Award), Combat Infantry- man's Badge (2nd Award), Master Parachutist Badge, SCUBA Badge, Korean Service Medal with Two Bronze Clasps, Japanese Occupation Medal, Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation, National Defense Service Medal, World War II Occupation Medal (Germany), Good Conduct Medal (9th Award), Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnamese Parachutist Badge, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with 60 Device, and Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Palm.

Tom is survived by his wife, Judy, of the home; a son, Thomas, of Fayetteville, N.C., and three daughters, Deborah of Tallahassee, Fla., Theresa of Cary, N.C., and Christilyne of Rocky Mount. His legacy includes six grandchildren.

Greensboro News & Record", North Carolina, GenealogyBank.com