BLAIR -- LCpl. Thomas Alan (Tommy), of Broken Arrow, OK, 24, was killed in action, March 24, 2003 in An Nasiriych, Iraq while proudly defending his country and the freedom he believed in. Tommy graduated from Broken Arrow High School in 1997 and joined the United States Marine Corps in August of that same year. Tommy served as a Stinger Missile Gunner/Avenger Crewman with 2nd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing and Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Havelock, NC. Tommy is survived by his mother, Nancy Blair of Broken Arrow, OK; his father, Alfred Blair Jr., and wife, Faye of Gravette, AR; 1 brother, Staff Sergeant Alfred Blair III and wife, Michell of Marine Corps Air Station New River, Jacksonville, NC; grandparents, Delores Hinton (and the late Thomas Hinton) of Joplin, MO, Frances Bridges of Gravette, AR; aunts, Peggy Hinton of Nashville, TN, Julie Diaz of Reno, NV and Laura Blair of St. Louis MO. He is also survived by his 2 nieces, numerous friends and his Marine Corps brethren. He was preceded in death by: his grandfather, Rev. Alfred Blair Sr. of Marionville, MO; and great-grandparents, Everett and Jennie Dennen and Louis and Myrtle Hinton, all of Joplin, MO. Tommy had a zest for life. He had a great love of the outdoors, including hunting and fishing. He enjoyed working on old cars and computers. He will be remembered as a man who loved his family, friends and his country and a hero to all. Funeral service will be held 10:30 a.m., Monday, April 14 at St. Paul United Methodist Church of Joplin with Rev. Bob Simon and Reverend David Williams officiating. Interment will follow at Ozark Memorial Park Cemetery with military rites provided by the United States Marine Corps. The casket will remain closed. Arrangements are under the direction of Parker Mortuary. Memorial contributions may be made to the Tommy Blair Memorial Fund established at Williams Employees' Credit Union in care of the mortuary. The family respectfully requests that media not conduct interviews or photograph any portion of the church service, graveside and interment. Parker Mortuary, (417) 623-4321.

Thomas A. Blair was a free spirit who tempered his shyness with a strong will, someone who would "give the shirt right off his back if he could help you," in the words of older brother Al Blair.

"He said he was proud of what he was doing, proud of where he was at, and he was doing the job he'd been trained to do, which was defend this country," said Al Blair, a Marine staff sergeant.

Thomas Blair, 24, of Broken Arrow, disappeared during fighting March 23, and was later confimed killed in action. (See "OKLAHOMANS")

Blair joined the Marines at 19 and was based in Cherry Point, N.C., a quick drive from his brother. He often visited Al Blair's family for home-cooked meals and the chance to play with his brother's children.

As a sophomore in the high school band, Blair sewed a military insignia to his band uniform, just like senior band members. "You'd give him an inch . . . and he'd just want to take it to the next step," said Darren Davis, Blair's high school band teacher.

Blair was laid to rest with military honors Monday next to his grandfather in Joplin, Mo.

More than 150 family members, friends and fellow Marines who served with Blair gathered in his memory at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Joplin, said Capt. Jennifer Morse, a Broken Arrow-based Marine who attended the service.

At a graveside ceremony Blair's mother and father were presented with U.S. flags and his medals, a Purple Heart and Combat Action Medal, she said. He was buried at Ozark Memorial Park Cemetery next to his grandfather, Thomas Hinton.

The media did not attend at the family's request.

Biographical capsules of other dead and missing U.S. servicemembers in the Iraq war may be found at the Tulsa World's Web site:

BROKEN ARROW (AP) -- A Broken Arrow Marine who became Oklahoma's first casualty in the war in Iraq will be honored posthumously for heroism in combat.

Lance Cpl. Thomas A. Blair's mother, Nancy, will be presented with a Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal this week, officials with the Broken Arrow-based Anti-Tank Training Company said.

Blair, 24, a member of the 2nd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion, was killed during fighting on the outskirts of Nasiriyah on March 23 (2003).

Blair's unit came under fire while trying to seize a bridge in the Iraqi city. According to the citation, he "demonstrated tremendous initiative and courage" by fighting to defend the company's position and then assisting in the evacuation of nine wounded Marines.

"Again and again, Lance Cpl. Blair exposed himself to devastating enemy fire to safeguard the lives of wounded comrades," the citation states.

The medal will be presented in a ceremony Friday at Broken Arrow's Veterans Park.

BROKEN ARROW -- With dog tags bearing his name hanging on an M-16 rifle planted in the ground, the first Oklahoman killed in combat in Iraq was posthumously honored Friday for saving the lives of nine fellow Marines.

The ceremony remembering Lance Cpl. Thomas A. Blair came almost one year after he was gunned down last March 23 in what was described as one of the "fiercest" gunfights of the Iraqi war.

His mother, Nancy, who described her son as "a 200 percent Marine," accepted a Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal in his honor in a presentation at Veterans Park.

A bench in the park, just a rock's throw from where the Marine was reared, is named in the memory of Blair, 24, a 1997 Broken Arrow High School graduate.

A Marine helmet, a pair of brogan shoes and a picture of Blair were in a setting with the M-16 and dogs tags. A granite memorial to him was nearby.

At the end of the ceremony, what were described as 50 white doves were released from a cage.

Nancy Blair released the first one, solemnly watching it for several seconds until it disappeared into the cloudy skies.

Marine Maj. Steve Sims of the Broken Arrow Anti-Tank Training called the March 23 gunfight on the outskirts of Nasiriyah the "fiercest" of the war and disclosed that Blair is being credited for saving the lives of nine wounded Marines.

Several others were killed, Sims said.

Blair previously had been awarded a Purple Heart and Combat Action Medal.

Nancy Blair said the Marine Corps has been at her side since notifying her last March 26 that her son was "missing," offering her hugs, a shoulder to cry on and assuring her that she would always be "a member of the family."

When it first happened, Blair said at a press conference, she avoided the news media "because it was too painful. A year later, I can talk about it some, but it's still painful."

She said she has wondered what would have happened if her son hadn't left his vehicle and joined in the firefight that left several dead.

"But that wouldn't have been my son," Blair said. "That wouldn't have been a Marine. He didn't think about himself . . . my son's adrenalin was pumping so hard . . . he always took everyone else before him."

Blair said she has "a huge trunk of letters" from Marines who have said "how he totally has changed their lives" by having served with him.

Blair said she received a 5 a.m. telephone call from her son the day before he was killed.

"He told me he was proud to be doing what he was doing," Blair said. "He said, 'I am proud of my country. I am doing what I am trained to do, and I know you are proud of me.'"

She said her son was following the Marine spirit of never leaving a Marine behind when he was killed, and "died fighting for the country he believed in."

Her son, the mother said, "was a hero to me before he joined the Marines . . . before this medal."

Recorded music played at the award ceremony featured "The Marine's Hymn" and "Anchors Aweigh."

Rob Martindale 581-8367
rob.martindale@tulsaworld.com

Eight Oklahoma servicemen died during the first year of the war in Iraq, along with one soldier with close ties to the state and a civilian University of Tulsa Law School graduate.

President Bush announced the start of the war one year ago Friday.

Following is a chronology on the deaths of the Oklahomans in the war.

(Note: See individual names and death dates for profiles)

MARCH 23: Marine Lance Lpl. Thomas A. Blair, 24, of Broken Arrow became Oklahoma's first war fatality.

He suffered fatal wounds when his unit came under fire while trying to take a bridge on the outskirts of Nasiriyah, a citation said.

Blair, who was buried in a family plot in Joplin, Mo., was a member of the 2nd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion.

A Broken Arrow Marine killed on the deadliest day for U.S. troops in the war on Iraq was in a vehicle struck by both enemy and friendly fire, military sources said Tuesday.

Lance Cpl. Thomas A. Blair died from wounds inflicted March 23 last year when members of Charlie Company, 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment took control of a bridge on the northern edge of Nasiriyah, which was important to opening an attack route for a Marine push toward Baghdad.

Blair, 24, who was posthumously decorated for attempting to rescue nine fellow Marines on March 23, 2003, was among 18 Marines killed that day in fighting around Nasiriyah.

Investigators determined that eight died as a result of enemy fire, but were unable to decisively determine the cause of the deaths of 10 others, including Blair.

Maj. Steve Sims, commander of the Marines' Broken Arrow anti-tank training unit, notified Blair's mother of the investigation findings.

Sims said the 1997 Broken Arrow High School graduate was struck by a combination of enemy and friendly fire.

The friendly U.S. airstrikes were cleared by a Marine air controller, who didn't realize that U.S. ground forces were in the area, Sims said.

Sims said rocket-propelled grenades fired by enemy forces "probably killed them (including Blair), but there were no witnesses to the account since all were killed."

Sims said he believes "it was a combination of enemy and friendly fire," adding that "a maverick" friendly fire anti-tank missile struck the vehicle occupied by Blair and other Marines.

"It was hard to tell what killed all the Marines in that vehicle . . . most likely it was enemy fire first, but his vehicle was struck by friendly fire. There is no question about that," Sims said.

Blair was posthumously awarded the Navy-Marine Corps Commendation Medal for his fighting that day.

He was credited with getting nine wounded Marines to his vehicle before the firing that took his life.

Tragically, Sims said, the nine wounded Marines were killed, along with Blair, when their vehicle came under attack.

"It didn't diminish what he did before he was killed," Sims said of Blair and the Commendation Medal.

Sims said the driver and the gunner on the vehicle survived the attack.

Blair also was awarded a Purple Heart and Combat Action Medal for his service in Iraq.

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Rob Martindale 581-8367
rob.martindale@tulsaworld.com

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