From a contemporary press report:
Golden Linberg Thomas, 69, an Army Colonel who served in the Ordnance Corps for most of his military career before retiring in 1986, died of prostate cancer March 15, 2000 at the Hospice of Northern Virginia.
Colonel Thomas, who had lived in Springfield since 1977, was born in Mineral, Virginia.
He graduated from Virginia State University and received a master’s degree in business management from Central Michigan University.
He served 28 years in the Army, including a tour of duty in Vietnam during the war there. He had other overseas assignments in Korea, Japan and Germany and served on the Army General Staff at the Pentagon.
In his final military assignment, he was director of maintenance for an academic department at Fort Knox, Kentucky.
His military decorations included the Legion of Merit and the Bronze Star.
Survivors include his wife of 37 years, Marion Thomas of Springfield; two sons, Kevin L., of Baltimore, and Kurt L., of Manassas; two sisters, Annie T. Phillips of Washington and Louise Lewis of Mineral; two brothers, James E. Thomas of Washington and Richard Thomas of Laurel; and two grandsons.
THOMAS, GOLDEN L., COL, USA (Ret.)
On Wednesday, March 15, 2000, in Arlington, VA, GOLDEN L. THOMAS, husband of Marion D. Thomas; father of Kevin L. and Kurt L. Thomas. He is also survived by two grandsons, two sisters, two brothers, one aunt, a host of other relatives and friends. Friends may call at the Shiloh Baptist Church, 1500 Ninth St., NW Washington, DC, Wednesday, March 29, 2000, from 11 a.m. until time of service, 12:30 p.m. Rev. Dr. Wallace Charles Smith officiating. Interment with full honors in Arlington National Cemetery.
Michael Robert Patterson was born in Arlington and is the son of a former officer of the US Army. So it was no wonder that sooner or later his interests drew him to American history and especially to American military history. Many of his articles can be found on renowned portals like the New York Times, Washingtonpost or Wikipedia.
Reviewed by: Michael Howard