IMO Sergeant Thomas John Dostie
 |
Sergeant Thomas John Dostie,
age 20, of Somerville,
Maine was killed in an explosion at Forward Operating Base Marez near Mosul,
Iraq on December 21st, 2004. He was a member of the 133rd Engineer
Battalion of the Maine Army National Guard. SGT Dostie was a mechanic with
Headquarters Company. He had completed basic training between his junior
and senior years of high school and then joined the Maine National Guard after
graduating from Erskine Academy in 2002. |
 .
 |
SGT Dostie was 20-years-old. He loved outdoor
sports such as soccer, fishing, water-skiing and snowmobiling. He was on
the wrestling and swimming team at the Erskine Academy. He had just
recently graduated from high school and worked as a mechanic. He came from
a small town of 500 people where he served as a volunteer
firefighter.
The 133rd Engineer Battalion is headquartered in
Gardiner and Portland with several detachments in Belfast, Gardiner, Lewiston,
Norway, Portland, Saco, Skowhegan, and Waterville. It is a heavy combat engineer
unit that performs construction projects, such as building roads, airfields, and
buildings, including the installation of electrical wiring and plumbing systems.
The unit was activated in late 2003 and was deployed to Iraq in March 2004.
Another member of the 133rd Engineer Battalion,
Sergeant Lynn Robert Poulin, was also killed in the attack. Several
members of the 133rd were injured in the attack.
Thomas Dostie was promoted to Sergeant
posthumously and was awarded the Army Good Conduct Medal, Bronze Star,
and the Purple Heart. He was buried on December 28, 2004 at Sand Hill Cemetary
in Somerville, Maine
|
Websites In Memory of Sergeant
Dostie.
In Memory.
WGME.
Faces of the Fallen. The Washington Post.
Army
Spc. Thomas J. Dostie. Military Times, Honor the fallen.
Army Spc. Thomas J. Dostie. Fallen Heroes Memorial.
SPC Thomas J. Dostie. Stryker Brigade News.
News Reports and Newspaper
Articles about Sergeant Dostie.
November 5, 2007.
"Plaque honors 2004 Iraq casualty". Portland Press Herald.
November 4, 2007.
"Ceremony, plaque honor Sgt. Dostie". MaineToday.com.
November 1, 2007.
"Plaques to honor 133rd's fallen soldiers". Portland Press Herald.
November 28, 2005. "Real
life stories from a Maine State Trooper: A very special detail".
Knox County Village Soup.
November 11, 2005.
"Maine Army National Guard has served in modern war". Bangor Daily
News.
July 23, 2005. "Sunday
ceremony a chance to thank the 133rd". Morning Sentinel Online.
May 5, 2005. "6
films to be shown Saturday in Given Auditorium". One features
Thomas Dostie. Morning Sentinel Online.
January 1, 2005. "Soldiers,
firefighters honor Thomas Dostie's service". Morning Sentinel
Online.
January 1, 2005. "Hundreds
mourn a Maine soldier". Press Herald Online News.
December 31, 2004. "Slain
soldiers promoted posthumously". Morning Sentinel Online.
December 31, 2004. "Second
of two slain soldiers buried New Year's Eve". Boston Globe.
December 31, 2004. "Tragedy
of war strikes home". SGT Dostie. Lincoln County Weekly.
December 31, 2004. "Dostie
recalled as proud, tough, quiet soldier". Capital Weekly.
December 31, 2004. "He
was one of us". Kennebec Journal Online.
December 31, 2004. "Local
soldiers remembered". Capital Weekly.
December 31, 2004. "Funeral
service held for SGT Thomas Dostie". WLBZ 2 News Center.
December 30, 2004. "Somerville
Mourns Death of Soldier". The Lincoln County News.
December 29, 2004. "Bodies
of two Maine soldiers arrive home". Press Herald Online News.
December 29, 2004. "Maine
communities prepare to honor fallen guardsmen". Boston Herald.
December 29, 2004. "Slain
soldier's return spurs memories". Tom Dostie arrives at Portland
JetPort. Kennebec Journal Online.
December 28, 2004. "Guardsmen's
bodies return home today". Kennebec Journal Online.
December 26, 2004. "Maine's
fallen soldiers honored". Seacoast Online.
December 26, 2004. "We
can't afford to lose many like Dostie". Morning Sentinel Online.
December 25, 2005.
"A
day of mourning and song". 133rd Eng Bn in Mosul, Iraq.
Press Herald Online News.
December 24, 2004. "Guardsmen
struggle on amid grief". Kennebec Journal Online.
December 24, 2004. "Somerville
vigil held for Dostie". Kennebec Journal Online.
December 24, 2004. "For
those left behind, grief must run its course". Press Herald
Online News.
December 24, 2004. "DoD
identifies Army Casualties". U.S. Department of Defense News
Release.
December 23, 2004.
"'Tommy'
Dostie loved kids and being a Guard mechanic". Press Herald
Online News.
December 23, 2004. "Town
mourns soldier". Kennebec Journal Online.
December 23, 2004. "Dostie
was quiet 'hero' to those who knew him". Kennebec Journal Online.
December 23, 2004.
"Two Mainers killed in Iraq are identified". Portsmouth Herald Maine
News.
December 23, 2004. "Close-knit
town recalls Spc. Dostie". Bangor Daily News.
December 22, 2004.
"Governor Confirms Fallen Maine Soldiers". Office of the
Governor.
December 22, 2004. "Victims
in Iraq: Recent high school grad, Bath Iron Works shipbuilder".
Bostom.com.
December 22, 2004. "Freedom
man killed in Iraq during attack". Waldo Village Soup.
December 22, 2004. "Representative
Allen's Statement of deaths of 133rd members". Congressman Tom
Allen.
December 22, 2004. "Governor
releases names of two Guard members killed in Iraq". Two members
of 133rd Engineer Battalion were deployed to Iraq. Boston Globe.
December 22, 2004. "Commander
in Iraq Expresses Condolences to Families". American Forces Press
Service.
December 22, 2004. "Baldacci
confirms names of Maine victims". WLBZ 2 News Center.
December 22, 2004. "A
time for grief, prayers and thoughts of home". Press Herald
Online News.
December 22, 2004. "Mainers
agonize awaiting details of 133rd casualties". Press Herald
Online News.
December 22, 2004. "Maine
soldiers' families anxious". Morning Sentinel Online.
December 22, 2004. "Back
home, families anxious for word". Kennebec Journal Online.
December 22, 2004. "2
Maine guardsmen among mess hall fatalities". Concord Monitor
Online.
December 22, 2004. "Carnage
in Mosul". Press Herald Online News.
December 22, 2004. "For
some, news is good; others hold their breath". Press Herald
Online News.
December 22, 2004. "Death
in the desert all too familiar scene". Kennebec Journal Online.
December 22, 2004. "Devastating
attacks: Two from Maine among the dead in Mosul". The Union
Leader.
December 22, 2004. "Explosion
rocks U.S. base in Iraq". International Herald Tribune.
December 21, 2004. "Mosul
blast hits U.S. hard". USA Today World.
December 21, 2004. "At
least 2 Mainers dead in Iraq dining hall attack". Bangor Daily
News.
December 21, 2004. "Governor
confirms Maine Guard casualties in Mosul: Families await word".
Waldo Village Soup.
December 21, 2004. "Mainers
among casualties in Iraq". Boston Herald.
December 21, 2004. "U.S.
base attacked in Mosul home of Maine guard units". Bangor Daily
News.
133rd Engineer Battalion Website on Military.com
(Return
to Top of Page) (Return
to IMO of Maine's Heros)
