TUCSON, AZ, USA U.S. Army SGT, COMPANY E, 160TH SOAR, APO AP 96205 NEAR BASILAN ISLAND, PHILIPPINES 02/22/2002
Army Sergeant Allison was assigned to the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, Fort Campbell, Kentucky. Allison was killed in a crash of a MH-47E Chinook helicopter off of the Philippine Islands in the Bohol Sea off Negros island.
Sergeant Allison is survived by his parents, Buddy and Patricia Allison of Roy, Washington.
Tom was a bright-eyed kid with a rugged build and a gleaming smile in Buddy and Pat’s family photos: Grade-schooler Tommy in a plastic helmet playing war or cutting up at church camp–religion was a passion. He’s shown with a sweet girl by his side at Washington High in Tacoma, posing with his muddy Blazer 4×4, and with sisters Debbie and Christine and brother Scott, now an Army sergeant.
Tom was a Night Stalker, a skilled, secretive commando force that was seeking to rescue a nurse and an American missionary couple when he died without a trace. Thomas and nine other U.S. servicemen were scouting Muslim rebels on Basilan Island as part of the War on Terrorism. Fishermen saw his helicopter erupt in a fireball and disappear, cause unknown. Three bodies were recovered, none Tommy’s. Tommy’s parents had only a memorial plaque to stare at as they sat under the green canopy at Tahoma National Cemetery. A few words were said, a 21-gun salute was given, “Taps” was played, and an Army chopper came in low over the rows of American flags lining the military graveyard east of Kent. An honor guard held a flag over an imaginary casket nearby.
Sergeant Allison’s awards and decorations include the Army Service Ribbon, the Basic Aviation Badge, the Parachutist Badge and Air Assault Badge.