Veteran - Tom Randle

By Roger Glenn

Tom Randle’s life hasn’t been easy. His family story has more than its share of adversity, and from a young age Tom was intimately familiar with hardship. By the ripe old age of 17 he decided to enlist in the Army but as a minor needed the help of his Mother to do so. So in March of 1967 Tom began his military experience at Fort Benning, Georgia at basic training and then his Advanced Individual Training at Fort Stewart (also Georgia) to become a heavy machine operator. His first duty assignment was to Germany where as a lowly Private First Class he was given mess hall duty. But at that age (and arguably still to some degree) he has a propensity to speak his mind, and a run-in with his commanding officer’s wife landed him in the motor pool, and eventually a country in southeast asia, Vietnam.

During his tour in Vietnam Tom was assigned to the 60th Land Clearing Company and became the sole wrecker operator in his unit. The mission of his unit was to support combat operations by recovering and repairing Army vehicles that were compromised or damaged. And the majority of their operations were in areas where confrontation with enemy forces was commonplace. Obviously the Viet Cong didn’t want to allow American forces to be able to recover their vehicles, and so their efforts were nearly always contested, so much so that wrecker operators had a bounty on their heads. But ironically it was an accident that ended his time in theater when an engine block was dropped on his foot which eventually caused serious complications and required that he be medically evacuated back to Germany. By late 1969 Tom was back in the United States and discharged from the service. In one of the more poignant events of Tom’s life, his Mother passed away at the young age of 42 before he could make it home for a long-awaited reunion. The war had taken its toll on him mentally and emotionally, and after growing up without a relationship with his biological father his Mother was now gone.

But Tom’s life is one of resilience. Rather than become bitter, or losing faith he remained determined to make a good life for himself and his family. He began a civilian career predominantly in finance and eventually became the Chief Executive Officer of a credit union. When the recession hit in 2008, Tom retired and soon thereafter moved to Rabun County - a place he discovered because a former boss and then personal friend had a home in Sky Valley. Tom’s legacy is one of service, not only to our beloved country but also to his communityboth local and beyond. He’s written five books, one about his experience in Vietnam titled “What Did You Do In Vietnam?” Additionally, Tom has been a volunteer with the Court Appointed Special Advocates program and is still involved in a case involving a 13-year old. He’s also worked with Habitat For Humanity, the Rabun County Chamber of Commerce and several other local organizations.

Suffice to say that Tom is a well known character around Rabun County given his legacy of service. After many tribulations in his life, he remains quick to smile, fast to lend a hand, and positive about his humanity, all without losing his humility. Our community is blessed to have this Citizen-Warrior in its corner.