SHOW ME - Johnson County - West Central Missouri History: Thomas Bright Jr, Warrensburg - Letter Home -KIA South Vietnam March 12, 1969

August 19, 2024

Thomas Bright Jr, Warrensburg - Letter Home -KIA South Vietnam March 12, 1969

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/02/18/2660668/the-stories-behind-vietnam-veterans.html

Tommy Bright, Warrensburg
Missouri
Class of 1965 WHS
Warrensburg, MO

Tommy Bright's photo here was recently left at the Vietnam traveling wall exhibit in Kansas City. The writer Brian Burnes contacted me by email about the photo wondering if I knew who might have left the memorial photo. I gave him only two names I knew of which was a army friend, Jay, who was with Tommy the day he was hit by a sniper in Vinh Binh and another friend that worked with Tommy at Russell Brothers Clothing in Warrensburg. Neither one checked out for Brian, wondering who else had this photo, it was so nice though that they did, thank you Thomas Bright Jr, Specialist Four. He was a wonderful young man, active in his church, hard worker, and with a million dollar smile and personality. Tommy, as he was known, became the radio operator for his platoon shortly before being KIA. He was short taking hostile enemy fire while exiting his helicopter, shot by snipers. He had an overflowing crowd at his funeral in Warrensburg, Mo at the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, it is a vivid memory that many of us will never forget.

Tommy wrote this letter to his friends at Russell Brothers Clothing Store in Warrensburg, Missouri upon his arrival to Vietnam in late November 1968. He would be killed by a sniper 99 days later upon exiting a helicopter in a hot zone as the radioman for his unit. His Army buddy James Bousquet whom he met in country, December 1968 was with him when he was killed.

Russell Bros. Clo.
Holden St.
Warrensburg, MO 64093

3 December 68
Hello Everyone
I am fine. I am at the 190th (90th) Replacement station in Long Binh, Vietnam. I am here waiting for orders to tell me what I will be placed in. It is really hot here. So far it has been between 90 & 95. They say that is cool considering what it usually gets here.
It is not as bad as I thought it would be. The people live in little huts that make the slums in K.C. Look like palaces.
To see how these people live, it makes you thankful that you live in America.
I really enjoyed the trip over here. We got 1st class all the way. We saw movies and we all had our own personal stereo ear phones so we tune to any type of music we wanted. We are a day ahead of you all over here. It is a 22 hour trip by plane. We left Oakland 8:30 p.m. Friday night and got here 12:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon. Somewhere I seemed to have lost Saturday. But are suppose to to gain a day when we go back. I got a chance to see a little of Hawaii and it is as pretty as everyone says it is.

Your friend,

Tom

P.S: As soon as I get a return address I'll send it to you.

90th Replacement Battaltion, Long Binh, South Vietnam

PERSONAL DATA
Home of Record: Warrensburg, MO
Date of birth: 04/20/1947
MILITARY DATA
Service: Army of the United States
Grade at loss: E4
Rank: Specialist Four
ID No: 56431753
MOS: 11B20: Infantryman
Length Service: 00
Unit: A CO, 3RD BN, 60TH INFANTRY, 9TH INF DIV, USARV
CASUALTY DATA
Start Tour: 11/30/1968
Incident Date: 03/12/1969
Casualty Date: 03/12/1969
Age at Loss: 21
Location: Vinh Binh Province, South Vietnam
Remains: Body recovered
Casualty Type: Hostile, died outright
Casualty Reason: Ground casualty
ON THE WALL Panel 29W Line 017

Tommy Bright, 2nd from Left Front, with American Legion Past Commanders
Post 131 Warrensburg, Missouri
From Left ?, Tommy Bright, Jr. Tab Taubert, Lonnie DesCombes, Bill Lee, H H Russell
Next Row L. Phillips, Dr. Emmet Ellis, Dr. A. L. Stevenson, Horace Cash, Ralph Martz,
Thomas Dunham,
Next Row - Earl Priest, ?, Claude Grainger, Bob Theiss, Alex Nassif, Garrett Crouch

Thomas Bright, Jr, Tommy Grade 7
Warrensburg, MO

THE VIRTUAL WALL ® www.VIRTUALWALL.org

Tommy Bright, Warrensburg Missouri 8th Grade

Vinh Binh

Thomas "Tommy" Bright Jr, Warrensburg, MO
KIA March 12, 1969

SPC4 Thomas Bright, Jr. Sunset Hill Cemetery, Warrensburg, Missouri

Tommy's Gravesite Warrensburg

Ricky Curtis Bradley, Served with Tommy and was KIA One Month Before, RIP

Tommy Bright, Jr.

Mariam R. Harvey Mariam Ruth Harvey, 83, of Warrensburg, passed away Tuesday, Nov. 27, 2012, at Country Club Care Center.

She was born March 5, 1929, in Grenada, Miss., the daughter of the Rev. Myer L. and Anna Mae (Harbin) Titus Sr.

Ruth worked as a Certified Nursing Assistant at Western Missouri Medical Center for more than 20 years. She then went to work at Enersys for five years and retired. She was a member of the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church as well as a member of the Usher Board and Mother Boards. She was also a volunteer at the Warrensburg Senior Center.

She is survived by three daughters, Barbara Frazier of Warrensburg, Glenda Frazier and husband, Steven Sr., of Warrensburg, and Shari Harvey of Overland Park, Kan.; one son, William Johnson of Kansas City; one brother, Dr. Myer Titus Jr. and wife, Constance, of Colorado Springs, Colo.; six grandchildren; eight great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren.

Ruth was preceded in death by her parents; two sons, Thomas and Ronald Bright; one grandson, Dwight Sweate; and one nephew, Greg Titus.

Funeral services were at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 1, at Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church in Warrensburg with the Rev. Terrence Moody officiating.

Pallbearers were Leroy White, Robert Moore, Stanley Dollar, Charles Briscoe, Lawrence Rucker Jr., Sherman Tinder, Kenneth Watson and Carlos Hill, Jr. Honorary pallbearers will be Curtis Dyer, Steven Frazier Sr., Steven Frazier Jr., Joseph Frazier Jr., David Woods and the Rev. Michael Forbush.

Interment was at Sunset Hill Cemetery.

Memorial contributions to the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church Building Fund.