This is an article about Thomas Grover.
The majority of the article was written by Tom’s brother, Ted.
Who was the reason our school is here today?
On November 13 and 14, 2017, Thomas R. Grover’s brothers, Ted and Robin, and several veterans who served with Thomas Grover in Vietnam came to our school for an amazing presentation about the man our school is named after
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On February 2, 1969, the night ambush patrol came under intense enemy fire from a concealed enemy force. Specialist Grover immediately and unhesitatingly left his relatively safe position and entered an exposed area where most of his comrades were located in order to provide suppressive fire and direct them to safety. Only after his comrades reached a safe area did he seek cover for himself, and while moving to another location he was fatally wounded.
His unselfish actions contributed significantly to the defeat of the enemy force. Specialist Fourth Class Grover’s valorous actions and devotion to duty, at the cost of his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army. Thomas R. Grover was awarded one of the United States Army’s highest honors, the Silver Star, for his bravery and actions.
Tom’s tour in Vietnam would have ended in three weeks following his death. He had spent forty five weeks in the field, yet he was willing to give his life to save his men. At the time of Tom’s death, I (Ted Grover) was home on leave waiting to be deployed to Vietnam. Since I was also an infantryman, Tom oftentimes expressed his concern regarding my service there. He was well aware of the perils of trying to survive day to day in a jungle war. He was also aware that if he was killed in Vietnam, the Army would not deploy me to a war zone. It is important to stress on Veterans Day that when a soldier is killed in war, it has a very seriousimpact on his/her family & friends. This impact is not only grief, but guilt and regrets.
Thomas enlisted into the military on June 12, 1967, was in the military for about a year and wrote home approximately once every week telling about the things that he had done over that period of time. The last dated letter that Tom wrote to his parents was on January 13,1969. Thomas was thought to be missing on February 2, 1969 but in fact, he had died. The first letter sent to the Grovers about their son missing was sent on February 4, 1969 and the second letter saying that Thomas had died was sent on February 6,1969. You can view a collection of Thomas R. Grover’s letters in the Grover Middle School Media Center. Thomas R. Grover Middle School is named in his honor, and he is buried in the cemetery at Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church down the street from our school.
Sources:
Grover Middle School's Jagazine 