August 22,, 2019
Volume 49 - No. 34 3
By Friedrich Gomez
Just a few weeks ago, on August 7, 2019, I finished researching this true story which astounded me beyond words. Weeks have since passed and, yet, the emotional saga continues to resonate deeply within me. I wish to share this powerful story with you now.
U. S. NAVY SEAL & HIS DOG “HAWKEYE.” Jon Tumilson was born in Osage, Iowa, but grew up in neighboring Rockford, just 22.6miles south of his birthplace. He The Paper - 760.747.7119
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was no ordinary Iowa-born boy. Even while still young in years, he already knew and mapped-out what he wanted to be in life. That dream never changed. At age 15 he had already penned a school class paper outlining his life’s dream to spend his remaining adult years as a Navy SEAL. Later, as an older student attending Rockford High School, young Tumilson amazed many Iowa citizens by excelling in a wide variety of athletic events: high school wrestling, running marathons, competing in triathlons, even martial arts wherein he accu-
mulated a wide range of colored belts. In everything Jon Tumilson did, he did with full conviction and for an expressed purpose in his young years. All of his athletic endeavors were actually in preparation for his Special Armed Forces career. So in time, it was only natural that he finally accomplished his most cherished goal in life: he became a proud Navy SEAL, just as he planned to be. Tumilson also had a Labrador retriever named “Hawkeye.” His dog shared a special bond with the
SEAL. Even during lengthy separations when Tumilson was on active duty, both Hawkeye and the Navy SEAL shared an inexplicable bond that seemed to transcend human reason and normal companionship. Neither time nor space could diminish the love and loyalty between them. On August 6, 2011, while en route to a combat mission in the Wardak province of Afghanistan, Special Warfare Operator Petty Officer First Class Jon Thomas Tumilson, age 35, died when his CH-47
Dogs - Loyal Unto Death - See Page 2