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We Honor and Remember:
Staff Sgt. Thomas A. Walkup Jr.
Hometown: Millville, NJ. Age: 25 years old. Died: November 23, 2003 in Operation Enduring Freedom. Unit: Air Force 20th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, FL. Birth: Apr. 6, 1978, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA Death: Nov. 23, 2003, Kapisa, Afghanistan Air Force Staff Sgt Walkup was assigned to the 20th Special Operations Squadron, Hurlburt Field, Florida, as a flight engineer. The 20th Special Operations Squadron typically conducts low-level penetration operations into enemy territory, providing air support for ground troops and resupplying Special Forces units. Walkup was onboard an MH-53 Pave Low helicopter conducting combat operations for 'Operation Mountain Resolve' when it crashed nine miles east of Bagram Air Base. A compressor problem caused one of the two engines on the Pave Low to stall, leaving it with one engine operating and too much weight to carry in the thin mountain air. The pilots attempted to jettison the auxiliary tanks without success and then the other engine stalled while an emergency landing was being attempted. With all power lost, the helicopter fell from an altitude of about 200 feet onto an uneven river bank, rolled over and burst into flames. |
The Daily Journal (Vineland, N.J.)
MILLVILLE, N.J. — Air Force Staff Sgt. Thomas A. Walkup Jr. was honored in death Thursday much as he had lived - gloriously. Bearing the prestigious Purple Heart and Medal of Honor, his newly pressed military uniform hung along one side of the flag-draped coffin that cradled the fallen airman. And one mustn't overlook his shoes, said Walkup's mother, Patricia, pointing to the polished pair poking out from beneath the uniform.
Walkup died Nov. 23 when his MH-53M Pave Low helicopter crashed near Bagram, Afghanistan. Thursday evening's ceremony - complete with honor guardsmen from Bayside and Southern State prisons - marked the first viewing for Walkup at St. John Bosco Church. It will continue from 9 to 11 a.m. today followed by a funeral service.
Flanking the opposite side of the coffin were Walkup's flight helmet, camouflage gear and volunteer firefighter badge carefully arranged in a fitting tribute to the man who died serving his country. He was 25. “Oh my God, he grew up to be a man,” said Patricia, gazing lovingly at an enlarged image of her son taken just 20 hours before the crash.
As other photographs on display demonstrated, there were many faces to Thomas A. Walkup Jr. “This one is him, this is Tom, this is Tom,” said his wife, Carissa Walkup, pointing from one image to the next in a framed photographic montage. Thomas, grinning with a rubber glove on his head. Thomas and Carissa vacationing in Mexico.
“He was usually always smiling,” Carissa remembered fondly. At a table decked with framed images of Walkup and his family, one frame read: “Some pursue happiness - others create it.” The photograph mounted inside showed Walkup sporting a Happy New Year hat and gleefully blowing on a party favor.
“He was fun, like, all the time,” said Kayla Murphy, 14, whom Walkup occasionally baby-sat. “He was the fun baby-sitter.” She recalled the time Walkup accidentally locked them outside her home and had to break his way back in through the kitchen window. “I still have a dented screen,” joked Kayla's mother, Rosie Murphy, 47.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Jay Hensley, 42, of Andrews Air Force Base bears Walkup's imprint in the unique nickname he fashioned for him, “Buddha.” “I don't have hair. I never spoke and when I did, they said I spoke words of wisdom,” he said. “It kind of stuck.” Walkup and Hensley participated in the same helicopter training course in Albuquerque and were roommates. Walkup's family chose Hensley to escort his remains here from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
But there was another side to Thomas A. Walkup, Jr. “That's him being military,” said Carissa, pointing to Walkup's stoic poses in military uniform that formed part of the montage. “He was very serious about what he did.” “He was a very sharp student,” Hensley said of Walkup's military proficiency. He advanced so quickly, that “he left his pilots and other flight students behind.”
Members of the American Legion and VFW posts in Bridgeton, Vineland and Millville joined the Vineland's Marine Corps League at the military hero's viewing. The Millville Fire Department also was listed in the guest book. “Tom was one of us. He's a comrade in arms,” said Russ Samano, chaplain with American Legion Post 82. “We're here to honor his service and support his family.”
Walkup's myriad outstanding qualities added up to the perfect package. “He was a much better person than I am,” said his father, Thomas Walkup Sr. “Nobody didn't like my son. He was the kind of kid everybody liked.” And he'd finally arrived at the perfect place.
“At least he's home,” Patricia told Mayor James Quinn. “This is where he would've wanted to be. “I'm just so proud of Millville,” she said.
“We're proud of Tommy,” Quinn responded. “He's our hero.”
He is survived by his wife, Staff Sergeant Carissa Walkup. Thomas' second funeral was on January 21, 2004. An honor guard preceded a horse-drawn caisson containing a single flag-draped coffin with the remains of the five servicemen killed in the crash; Air Force Maj Steven Plumhoff, Air Force Staff Sgt Walkup, Air Force Tech Sgt Howard Walters, Sgt Phillip Albert, and Air Force Tech Sgt William Kerwood. Because their remains were commingled, the five received a single burial. All five names appear on a single tombstone.
Burial: Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA
Plot: Sec 60, Site 8121 AND Sec 60, Site 8124
MILLVILLE, N.J. — Air Force Staff Sgt. Thomas A. Walkup Jr. was honored in death Thursday much as he had lived - gloriously. Bearing the prestigious Purple Heart and Medal of Honor, his newly pressed military uniform hung along one side of the flag-draped coffin that cradled the fallen airman. And one mustn't overlook his shoes, said Walkup's mother, Patricia, pointing to the polished pair poking out from beneath the uniform.
Walkup died Nov. 23 when his MH-53M Pave Low helicopter crashed near Bagram, Afghanistan. Thursday evening's ceremony - complete with honor guardsmen from Bayside and Southern State prisons - marked the first viewing for Walkup at St. John Bosco Church. It will continue from 9 to 11 a.m. today followed by a funeral service.
Flanking the opposite side of the coffin were Walkup's flight helmet, camouflage gear and volunteer firefighter badge carefully arranged in a fitting tribute to the man who died serving his country. He was 25. “Oh my God, he grew up to be a man,” said Patricia, gazing lovingly at an enlarged image of her son taken just 20 hours before the crash.
As other photographs on display demonstrated, there were many faces to Thomas A. Walkup Jr. “This one is him, this is Tom, this is Tom,” said his wife, Carissa Walkup, pointing from one image to the next in a framed photographic montage. Thomas, grinning with a rubber glove on his head. Thomas and Carissa vacationing in Mexico.
“He was usually always smiling,” Carissa remembered fondly. At a table decked with framed images of Walkup and his family, one frame read: “Some pursue happiness - others create it.” The photograph mounted inside showed Walkup sporting a Happy New Year hat and gleefully blowing on a party favor.
“He was fun, like, all the time,” said Kayla Murphy, 14, whom Walkup occasionally baby-sat. “He was the fun baby-sitter.” She recalled the time Walkup accidentally locked them outside her home and had to break his way back in through the kitchen window. “I still have a dented screen,” joked Kayla's mother, Rosie Murphy, 47.
Air Force Staff Sgt. Jay Hensley, 42, of Andrews Air Force Base bears Walkup's imprint in the unique nickname he fashioned for him, “Buddha.” “I don't have hair. I never spoke and when I did, they said I spoke words of wisdom,” he said. “It kind of stuck.” Walkup and Hensley participated in the same helicopter training course in Albuquerque and were roommates. Walkup's family chose Hensley to escort his remains here from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.
But there was another side to Thomas A. Walkup, Jr. “That's him being military,” said Carissa, pointing to Walkup's stoic poses in military uniform that formed part of the montage. “He was very serious about what he did.” “He was a very sharp student,” Hensley said of Walkup's military proficiency. He advanced so quickly, that “he left his pilots and other flight students behind.”
Members of the American Legion and VFW posts in Bridgeton, Vineland and Millville joined the Vineland's Marine Corps League at the military hero's viewing. The Millville Fire Department also was listed in the guest book. “Tom was one of us. He's a comrade in arms,” said Russ Samano, chaplain with American Legion Post 82. “We're here to honor his service and support his family.”
Walkup's myriad outstanding qualities added up to the perfect package. “He was a much better person than I am,” said his father, Thomas Walkup Sr. “Nobody didn't like my son. He was the kind of kid everybody liked.” And he'd finally arrived at the perfect place.
“At least he's home,” Patricia told Mayor James Quinn. “This is where he would've wanted to be. “I'm just so proud of Millville,” she said.
“We're proud of Tommy,” Quinn responded. “He's our hero.”
He is survived by his wife, Staff Sergeant Carissa Walkup. Thomas' second funeral was on January 21, 2004. An honor guard preceded a horse-drawn caisson containing a single flag-draped coffin with the remains of the five servicemen killed in the crash; Air Force Maj Steven Plumhoff, Air Force Staff Sgt Walkup, Air Force Tech Sgt Howard Walters, Sgt Phillip Albert, and Air Force Tech Sgt William Kerwood. Because their remains were commingled, the five received a single burial. All five names appear on a single tombstone.
Burial: Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington, Arlington County, Virginia, USA
Plot: Sec 60, Site 8121 AND Sec 60, Site 8124
New Jersey Run for the Fallen 2024 ~ Click photos below to enlarge...
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New Jersey Run for the Fallen 2023 ~ Click photos below to enlarge...
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