Thomas Paul Ryan Jr. was born in Chester, PA on August 30, 1953 to Thomas Paul and Sarah (Sally) Ryan. He attended high school at Archmere Academy in nearby Clayton, DE. Tom showed talent for writing and publishing early in life. He was editor of the Patio, his 1971 Archmere Academy yearbook.
Tom then attended the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. He played intercollegiate tennis and squash, worked for the WKDT radio station, and was an Honor Committee representative. He completed Ranger School as a cadet between yearling and cow years. This took superior physical and mental fitness and confirmed Tom’s dedication to an Army career.
Tom graduated and became an Infantry officer in 1975. He trained at Fort Benning (now Fort Moore), GA and proceeded to duty with 1st Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division in Aschaffenburg, Germany. He served there from 1976 to 1979 and was awarded the Army Commendation Medal. Tom completed the Infantry Officer Advanced Course at Fort Benning in 1979 and joined the Infantry School staff and faculty in 1980. In 1981-82, he commanded a company in the 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment (part of the 197th Infantry Brigade at Fort Benning). He worked in the brigade S-4 in 1982-83, earning the Meritorious Service Medal. In 1983, Tom went to U.S. Army Japan for three years, receiving additional awards of the Army Commendation and Meritorious Service medals. He graduated from the Command and General Staff College in 1987, then became an exchange officer in Australia.
During his company-grade years, Tom married Debra J. Balensuela, and their daughter Jennifer was born in 1980. Their son Sean was born in 1985 in Japan.
In 1989, Tom became S-3 of the 4th Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 7th Infantry Division at Fort Ord, CA. The 7th Division was oriented on SOUTHCOM missions, and Panama was in turmoil under Manuel Noriega. Tom’s battalion rotated to Fort Sherman, nominally to participate in jungle training but also to participate in Operation Nimrod Dancer, the up-tempo effort to control oppressive and dictatorial actions by Panamanian defense forces. As S-3, Tom coordinated two parallel missions: the overt jungle training program and covert patrolling near Panamanian military installations on the Atlantic side of the Panama Canal. Conditions deteriorated, Americans were harassed and murdered, and Noriega declared he was in a state of war with the United States. Operation Just Cause was implemented rapidly to forestall movement of Panamanian forces into jungles, where they could conduct a guerrilla war. Operational security was paramount as 4-17th Infantry planned and conducted combat operations. Three infantry companies engaged Panamanian forces in firefights at Fort Espinar, Coco Solo Naval Station, and the city of Colon, eliminating Panamanian resistance at the canal’s Atlantic end. The battalion lost one soldier (killed), and 10 were wounded. Tom had applied all his years of infantry training and experience and received the Combat Infantryman Badge for his actions in this engagement.
After returning to Fort Ord, Tom served as battalion executive officer. In 1991 he became a Command and General Staff College instructor at Fort Leavenworth, KS. Family life took shape in nearby Lansing, KS. After four years teaching at the Command and General Staff College, Tom retired in 1995.
Tom then began work as a professional writer and research analyst with Veda Corporation. The term “Veda” means “knowledge, insight, sacred writings” in Sanskrit. Tom was well suited for this work. Tragically, his son was killed in an auto accident in 2006. Tom moved to Kansas City and wrote blogs and for newspapers, often about the arts. He was a gifted writer, using his words to inspire and encourage artists in the Kansas City area.
Tom died unexpectedly of a coronary embolism while out for a walk on the streets of Kansas City in 2012, at age 58. From high school through his military career and into retirement, Tom touched people with his devotion to duty and his insightful writing abilities. He prepared intensely at West Point and Ranger School. He stood on the ramparts of freedom during the Cold War. With a young family at home, he managed infantry battalion operations when combat duty came calling in Panama. He passed his wealth of experience to younger officers at the Command and General Staff College, and he wrote prolifically on many subjects after his retirement.
An example of Tom’s written insight is the eulogy he wrote after the 2011 death of his close West Point friend and roommate, Rudy Acojedo. Tom and Rudy, no doubt, respected each other’s traits. Excerpts of Tom’s words, with the name “Rudy” replaced by “Tom,” read as follows:
“Tom was a good friend. Tom had a wonderful bright sense of humor, irony, and inner light. He worked hard, real hard. He was there for people, really there, present for duty, and very present in the moment of things. There’s so many people that knew and loved Tom. No one owns this sense of loss we feel now and will feel from time to time when Tom decides to tap us on our shoulder. I hear his laugh right now, clearly.”
Classmates feel Tom’s words about Rudy apply equally to Tom.
A great friend. A great soldier. A great thinker. We hear your laugh. Thank you, Tom. Well Done.
— Classmates