Posted on 08/30/2006 7:57:07 AM PDT by Zakeet
FORT HOOD – The soldiers for whom Capt. Rodney Thomas cared as a chaplain had a good reason for lovingly referring to him as "Holy Roller," his assistant said Tuesday.
Not only was he a model for what Christians are supposed to be, he was relied upon for tactical information as well, said Spc. Heath Alexander.
Thomas insisted on being with soldiers, which required him to travel throughout Iraq in convoys. He was assigned to the 180th Transportation Battalion, 13th Sustainment Command and had just returned Aug. 15 from a yearlong deployment to Kuwait. He collapsed and died after a physical training session one week later. He was 43.
Because Thomas always was on the road, he was always aware of his surroundings.
"There were several times I thought (Thomas) was the only person who knew what was going on," Alexander said during a memorial service for Thomas.
Thomas met more than 1,000 convoys before they rolled out, said Capt. David Blanchard, commander of the battalion's Headquarters and Headquarters Detachment. He shared living quarters with Thomas during the deployment. It didn't matter what time the convoy left, Thomas was there to see it off, Blanchard said.
"Troops knew (it was as likely) to see their chaplain as it was to draw their weapons," when they left for convoys, Alexander said.
Thomas probably didn't get more than three hours of sleep a night for the entire year because he always was seeing off convoys or answering a call for help from a soldier, Blanchard said.
"I could never understand how someone could be functional after getting up so many times in the middle of the night," Blanchard said.
Some soldiers wondered if Thomas really lived in the streets of Iraq and never made it back to their base in Kuwait, because he wanted to be with his soldiers, Alexander said. That desire translated into traveling more than 12,000 miles in Iraq.
When he was at the base in Kuwait, Thomas insisted on doing maintenance on his own truck, Blanchard said. And, he was an advocate for soldiers.
The only time Alexander saw Thomas get mad was when leaders weren't taking care of their soldiers, Alexander said.
Thomas took care of the battalion's troops by being thoughtful, said commander Lt. Col. Bill Moseley. Thomas often brought hot food to soldiers missing meals because they were working on their vehicles, Moseley said.
This is what made him such a model Christian, Alexander said. He wasn't judgmental and always was willing to listen, Alexander said, adding that a soldier who does not associate himself with a particular religion commented that if all Christians were like Thomas, he'd be one, too.
"In his life, I could see the face of God," Alexander said.
Thomas is survived by his wife, Lori. A funeral is set for 4:30 p.m. today at First Baptist Church in Goldthwaite.
Capt. Thomas is another example of why we have the world's best military.
This is a man for whom God Himself will stand and say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant"...
and Capt. Thomas' men will stand and say it with God, in the streets of Heaven.
God bless your daughter for doing the true work of Journalism - to tell the truths that need to be told.
I would like to have known Capt. Thomas, he sounded like the best of the best. Thank your daughter for honoring this hero.
[..."Well done, thou good and faithful servant"...]
Tears.
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