Vernon, NY - Just weeks after Army Spc. Blair Thompson, of Vernon, was injured in an insurgent attack in Afghanistan, he was killed Friday in another. He was 19. Thompson shipped out in May to Afghanistan, where he was part of Headquarters, 327th Infantry Regiment, the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Ft. Campbell, KY, stationed at forward...
Blair Thompson, a 19-year-old U.S. Army specialist from Vernon in Oneida County, was killed Friday in Afghanistan by insurgents. This family photo was taken within the past year. Thompson shipped out in May to Afghanistan, where he was part of Headquarters, 327th Infantry Regiment, the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, Ft. Campbell, KY, stationed at forward operating base Blessing, in Kunar Province, in eastern Afghanistan.
On his Facebook page, Thompson posted a photo showing the facial cuts he suffered when he was hit by shrapnel in the first attack. Cuts on his leg were painful, his father, Vincent Thompson, said today. The Army offered Thompson a chance to rest and heal from his first wounds, but he wanted to be back in the fight.
“He said, ‘They got me inside the wire. I just want to go on a mission. That’s my job, Dad. That’s my job,’” said Vincent Thompson, of Little Falls.
Thompson, who was working as a gunner, died in an ambush with small arms fire and rocket propelled grenades, said his father.
Thompson had wanted an Army career since childhood. He followed in the footsteps of his older brother, Sean, who joined the Army when Blair was 13. As a sophomore at Rome Free Academy, Blair Thompson joined the Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. After graduating from Rome Free Academy in 2008, he joined the Army, finishing basic training in January 2009.
“He liked the idea of doing something for his nation, protecting us from that enemy,” said his father. “He went over there with a very open mind, with a true patriot’s heart. All he wanted to do was protect you and me.”
Services for Thompson have not been arranged. His remains arrived Saturday at Dover Air Force Base, in Maryland.
In addition to his father, Thompson is survived by his mother, Arena Young, of Vernon, and three brothers, Sean, 23, Noah, 9 and Gavin, 6.
Dave Tobin can be reached at dtobin@syracuse.com or 470-3277.