Lance Cpl. John “Tommy” Byrd II

23, US Marines

October 30 marks the passing of Lance Cpl. John “Tommy” Byrd II, US Marines 23, of Fairview, WV. Let us honor and remember him, his mother Nan Byrd, and his wife, Jessica Byrd.

Tommy was born Feb 1st, 1981 and a graduate of North Marion High School. He was raised in West Virginia where he enjoyed nature and basketball.  He was surrounded by loving, hardworking, family and friends.  Music was his heart, he enjoyed everything from country, to Christian, to hip hop. He also loved to cook and read.

Tommy spent some time working in a restaurant in Myrtle Beach, but after the 9/11 attacks he decided to enlist in the Marines in 2002. LCPL Byrd was assigned to 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Marine Corps Base Hawaii. He was killed Oct 30 2004, by enemy action in Anbar province, Iraq.

While he was away at war, Tommy knew he had a cheering section back home. He told his wife that his mother "had half the country praying for me. So, I should be OK." 

Tommy was killed Oct. 30 by a suicide car bomb in Anbar province. along with seven other Marines.

He was stationed in Hawaii, where he met his wife, Jessica Marie. She was expecting a child, Elijah Cade Byrd, when Tommy was killed. 

His mother Nan Byrd said her son, whom she called Tommy, was a serious, quiet person who "always took people as they came and treated them with respect." When he joined the Marines in 2002, he was "adventurous and gung-ho," his mother said. But his attitude changed after he met his wife and found they would become parents. He hoped to go to college and "start a future for his family," she said. "All he really wanted to do was to come home and watch his baby grow," she said.

Tommy was buried by his family on Veterans Day 2004 with full military honors. Pastor Delas Stuzen, who remembered Byrd attending Noah’s Ark Assembly of God Church’s youth center and playing basketball with his friends, noted his kindness and bravery. “I saw some qualities in that young man that were a little different,” he said. “He was quieter. He was a gentleman. He was a good guy.” “Cpl. Byrd laid his life down to free a people he didn’t know.”

Tommy’s family was presented with a Purple Heart that Byrd earned for wounds received in action that resulted in his death. Folded flags were presented to Byrd’s mother, Nan Byrd, and his wife, Jessica Byrd, who gave birth to their son, Elijah, in January 2005.

Tommy’s father, John T. Byrd, said his son decided on his own to join the Marine Corps. “He wanted to do something important,” he said. “He didn’t want to live the everyday life. He was a fighter.”

Tommy was survived by his wife, a son, his mother and father, and a sister Holly.

Let us always honor and remember him, his son, his mother, his family.... and

Say His Name.

#neverforget #SayTheirNames #RememberTheFallen #GoldStarMothers #goldstarfamilies #goldstar #marines

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