Thomas Felts honored by comrades, laid to rest

More than 400 people gathered in Main Post Chapel Nov. 17 for a memorial service honoring a fallen Fort Leavenworth Soldier.

Col. Thomas H. Felts, 45, was killed by a roadside bomb in Iraq Nov. 14 while serving as a senior team leader and adviser to the Iraqi military. Before deploying he was a senior service fellow of the Advanced Operational Arts Studies Fellowship at the Command and General Staff College.

The standing-room-only memorial service featured comments by Dr. Peter Schifferle, a friend and colleague of Felts at CGSC.

Schifferle said Felts volunteered for the deployment in Iraq because he wanted to have the experience to be a better leader.

"When Fort Leavenworth received a requirement for a colonel to report for duty in Iraq, Tom knew, in his Soldier's heart, that he needed to experience the crucible," Schifferle said. "He needed to understand the hard edge of being a Soldier before he mentored majors."

Schifferle said that Felts is still teaching and in the hearts and minds of the Soldiers and friends he left behind.

Members of the Leavenworth High School Junior ROTC and Fort Leavenworth community line the walkways outside Main Post Chapel as mourners enter for Col. Thomas Felts' memorial service Nov. 17. Lamp photo by Prudence Siebert.
"That is how the Army works. Soldiers influence each other, often without realizing it," Schifferle said. "This chain of influence, this mentorship, holds us together as an invisible, but tangible, support system.

Felts' brother-in-law, John Waldrop III said Felts was a dedicated family man and dedicated his service to God and his country.

Waldrop said that since his deployment in January, Felts was in contact with his family through the modern technology of Web cameras.

"They were able to stay in contact with him, they were able to see him, they were able to share parts of their lives with him and he remained an active part of their life during the deployment," Waldrop said.

Felts is survived by his wife Kim, daughters Sara, LeAnna and Rebekah, and son Thomas Jr.

Mrs. Felts said her husband loved the work he was doing with the Iraqi military and he was anxious for them to be able to stand on their own.

The children stand behind their dad, she said. She said the children know their dad and the principles he brought them up to believe in.

"We'll get through this, day by day," Mrs. Felts said. "Hour by hour sometimes."

"Drive on, fight the good fight," was the message she said the colonel would have for his friends and colleagues at Fort Leavenworth.

Waldrop agreed.

"And, I think he would really express his gratitude for the outpouring of so much love on this base," Waldrop said. "As a non-military person I'm just blown away by the love and support that has been shown to my sister and her children at this extremely difficult time. It really is touching."

Felts' funeral was Nov. 21 at the University of Richmond (Va.) chapel. He was interred at the Seven Pines National Cemetery near Sanston, Va.

From the Fort Leavenworth Lamp

Related Link:
Thomas Felts remembered

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Thomas H. Felts killed by I.E.D.