More detail on this person: McMURRAY Thomas I McMurray LTC US Army (Ret.) August 3, 1930 - December 10, 2016 Passed away in Springfield, VA on December 10, 2016. Beloved husband, father and grandfather and skilled Army Aviator, Tom was born and raised on his family's dairy farm in Nashville, Tennessee in 1930. He was a graduate of Central High School in Nashville and the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, TN. He was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers in 1954. After attending flight school, Tom was stationed in South America where he worked for the Defense Mapping Agency and participated in mapping missions in Panama, Columbia, and Venezuela. For several months during this South American tour, he used a beach as his flight strip, planning flights by the tide schedule. Tom returned to Fort Belvoir for the advanced course where he met and married Elaine Crowe, a sixth grade teacher at Fort Belvoir. Elaine was the love of his life and wife for more than 55 years. Tom was sent back overseas for more mapping mission support. This time he spent 13 months in Libya and Iran where he was taken prisoner (briefly) by an irate Iranian general and somehow wound up teaching the Shah how to bowl. After his Middle East adventures, Tom returned to the US and was assigned to the 11th Airborne Division (Test) at Fort Benning Georgia, where he commanded an Assault Helicopter Company. He stayed with the Division when it was reflagged as the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile) and deployed to Vietnam where his company supported numerous actions at Pleiku and the Binh Dinh. He was later stationed again in Southeast Asia, this time flying fixed wing aircraft out of Thailand to conduct surveillance of the Ho Chi Minh trail. Tom retired from the Army while assigned to the Pentagon in 1975. He then went to work for the state of Virginia before retiring in 1991. Tom is survived by his wife, Elaine; daughters, Susan Harris (Ed) and Laura Lee Paine (Andy); and grandchildren, Mary Kate Paine, David Paine, and Jacqueline Paine. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews. A viewing will be held at Fairfax Memorial Funeral Home, 9902 Braddock Rd., Fairfax, VA from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 18. The burial at Arlington National Cemetery will be in the spring of 2017.A viewing will be held at Fairfax Memorial Funeral Home, 9902 Braddock Rd., Fairfax, VA from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 18. The burial at Arlington National Cemetery will be in the spring of 2017.
Burial information: Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, VA
This information was last updated 01/30/2017
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Date posted on this site: 03/10/2024
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