Army Spc. Thomas K. Doerflinger, 20, of Silver Spring, Md.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), Fort Lewis, Wash.; killed Nov. 11 when his unit came under small-arms fire while conducting combat operations in Mosul, Iraq.
HE WANTED TO BE HELPFUL
Doerflinger joined the military shortly after the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. “He said, ‘I just want to be helpful,”’ said Anna Doerflinger, 23.
Thomas’ parents, Richard and Lee Doerflinger, tried to dissuade him, his sister said, because U.S. military action appeared to be imminent. “But he said he’d rather join then than in a time of peace,” Anna said.
Her younger brother, Anna said, was not “your typical play-video-games kind of guy.” He was quiet but very funny, and wrote poetry and short stories, she said.
Thomas also liked the music of Johnny Cash, and in his last message to his family, asked to be sent music CDs.
Doerfling never talked about the danger he faced because he was trying to protect his family from worrying about him, Anna said.
Richard and Lee Doerflinger issued this statement Friday night: “Our son Thomas was a smart, dedicated, wonderful young man who volunteered for the Army to serve his country and protect innocent people.
“He understood the risks of his chosen path, and gave his life doing what he had committed himself to doing — standing against those who have no respect for human life. Even as we grieve for our loss, we honor the ideals he stood for and ask others to do the same.”
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