In Memory of…....... PFC Thomas Edward McGraw.
*** Posted on 9/21/12 - by Robert Sage - Thomas is buried at Assumption Cemetery, Syracuse,NY. PH
**I searched the stated plot or section and could not find the grave. I searched the area thoroughly; grave is unmarked.FAG Volunteer
You may be gone, no longer living on this earth; but you will live on - in the memories of your family and friends. There will always be a part of you living in those who knew you. You will live on because we remember you!
THOMAS EDWARD MCGRAW
Army - PFC - E3
Age: 19
Race: Caucasian
Date of Birth May 26, 1946
From: NORTH SYRACUSE, NY
Religion: ROMAN CATHOLIC
Marital Status: Married - Sarah Dallas, McGraw's widow. Daughter, Robyn Mc Graw DeCuffa, mother of eight from Cortland in central New York. Brother, Brian McGraw of Fayetteville. Parents: Mr. and Mrs. Francis (Muggsy) L. McGraw of North Syracuse; five brothers, Francis, Brian, Michael, Martin and Steven McGraw; two sisters, Miss Anne and Miss Kelly McGraw
***** Services for Pfc. Thomas Edward McGraw, 19, of 108/2 Mechanic . S t. t Fayeeville, who was killed Feb. 1 in combat in Viet Nam, will be at 8 a.m. Monday at the Eaton- Tubbs Funeral Home and 9 a.m. in 'St.' Rose of Lima Church, North Syracuse, where a solemn high requiem Mass will be celebrated.
Military burial will be in Assumption Cemetery. A former North Syracuse High School pupil, Pfc. McGraw received training at Fort Dix, N. J. and spent 16 months in Korea. He then was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, before leaving Dec. 13 for Viet Nam where he was with the First Cavalry Division.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Sarah Lee McGraw, daughter of Fayetteville. Police Chief Joseph DeMore; a daughter, Robyn McGraw; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Francis (Muggsy) L. McGraw of North Syracuse; five brothers, Francis, Brian, Michael, Martin and Steven McGraw; two sisters, Miss Anne and Miss Kelly McGraw; a niece and several aunts and uncles.
PFC - E3 - Army - 1st Cav Division (AMBL)
Length of service 2 years
His tour began on Dec 14, 1965
Casualty was on Feb 1, 1966
MILITARY DATA:
Service: Army of the United States
Grade at loss: E3
Rank/Rate: Private First Class
ID No: 12680664
MOS/RATING: 11B20: Infantryman
Length Service: 02
Unit: A CO, 2ND BN, 12TH CAVALRY, 1ST CAV DIV, USARV
CASUALTY DATA:
Start Tour: 12/14/1965
Incident Date: 02/01/1966
Casualty Date: 02/01/1966
Age at Loss: 19
Location: Binh Dinh Province, South Vietnam
Remains: Body recovered
Casualty Type: Hostile, died outright
Casualty Reason: Ground casualty
Casualty Detail: Gun or small arms fire
In SOUTH VIETNAM
HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY
GUN, SMALL ARMS FIRE
Body was recovered
Panel 04E - Line 130
Thomas Edward McGraw was a Private First Class for the United States Army during the Vietnam War.
He died on February 01, 1966 at the age of 20 from small arms fire.
********************************************
MANLIUS, N.Y. – Just a toddler when her father was killed in Vietnam, Robyn DeCuffa was devastated when his Purple Heart medal disappeared from her Syracuse-area home years ago.
"The medal was really all that I did have from my father," said DeCuffa, a 51-year-old mother of eight from Cortland in central New York.
On Tuesday, DeCuffa and her mother will be reunited with Pfc. Thomas McGraw's Purple Heart, awarded after his death in an ambush in Vietnam on Feb. 1, 1966, while serving in the Army's 1st Cavalry Division.
Sarah Dallas, McGraw's widow, gave DeCuffa her father's Army medals and a photo album from his military service when she was 18. Years later, the Purple Heart disappeared while she was living outside Syracuse, where her father grew up. DeCuffa said someone likely stole the medal, but she wouldn't elaborate.
"It was a part of him I could physically hang on to," she said. "It was devastating when it was missing."
In the early 1990s, Jason Galloway found a Purple Heart on the playground at his suburban Syracuse elementary school. He later handed it in to the front office. Although McGraw's name was engraved on the back, apparently no effort was made to return it to its owner. When school ended for the year, the medal was given back to Jason, who brought it home.
Karen Galloway, Jason's mother, said the medal mostly sat in a drawer in the kitchen of her family's home in Liverpool. Every now and then, her husband would search the Internet in an effort to locate McGraw and return the medal, but had no luck finding any information. "We didn't put tons and tons of effort into it," she said.
Then, last Christmas, the now 34-year-old Jason and his wife were visiting from the Washington, D.C., area. Galloway's daughter-in-law saw the medal and asked why the family had it since Jason, an Air Force veteran, hadn't been wounded during his four-year service.
Told the story of how it was found at the school, Jason's wife said it would be "cool" to find its owner. Weeks later, the daughter-in-law called to say she had seen a local news story on Purple Hearts Reunited, a Vermont-based organization that returns lost or stolen military medals to veterans or their families.
Karen Galloway contacted the founder, Zachariah Fike, who traced the medal's origins and located DeCuffa, a manager for Capital Region Off-Track Betting, and Dallas, who lives in Mexico, New York.
"It almost feels like a miracle that this is being returned," said DeCuffa, whose second-oldest son is an Army veteran and whose second-oldest daughter is in the Air Force.
Fike will return the medal to DeCuffa and Dallas during a ceremony being held at the Cavalry Club, a former National Guard camp-turned-golf club in Manlius, outside Syracuse. Galloway and her husband plan to be there.
"I'm so excited about it," she said. "He lost his life and I think that it's really important that it gets back to his family."
********************************************
*** Posted on 9/21/12 - by Robert Sage - Thomas is buried at Assumption Cemetery, Syracuse,NY. PH
**I searched the stated plot or section and could not find the grave. I searched the area thoroughly; grave is unmarked.FAG Volunteer
You may be gone, no longer living on this earth; but you will live on - in the memories of your family and friends. There will always be a part of you living in those who knew you. You will live on because we remember you!
THOMAS EDWARD MCGRAW
Army - PFC - E3
Age: 19
Race: Caucasian
Date of Birth May 26, 1946
From: NORTH SYRACUSE, NY
Religion: ROMAN CATHOLIC
Marital Status: Married - Sarah Dallas, McGraw's widow. Daughter, Robyn Mc Graw DeCuffa, mother of eight from Cortland in central New York. Brother, Brian McGraw of Fayetteville. Parents: Mr. and Mrs. Francis (Muggsy) L. McGraw of North Syracuse; five brothers, Francis, Brian, Michael, Martin and Steven McGraw; two sisters, Miss Anne and Miss Kelly McGraw
***** Services for Pfc. Thomas Edward McGraw, 19, of 108/2 Mechanic . S t. t Fayeeville, who was killed Feb. 1 in combat in Viet Nam, will be at 8 a.m. Monday at the Eaton- Tubbs Funeral Home and 9 a.m. in 'St.' Rose of Lima Church, North Syracuse, where a solemn high requiem Mass will be celebrated.
Military burial will be in Assumption Cemetery. A former North Syracuse High School pupil, Pfc. McGraw received training at Fort Dix, N. J. and spent 16 months in Korea. He then was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, before leaving Dec. 13 for Viet Nam where he was with the First Cavalry Division.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Sarah Lee McGraw, daughter of Fayetteville. Police Chief Joseph DeMore; a daughter, Robyn McGraw; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Francis (Muggsy) L. McGraw of North Syracuse; five brothers, Francis, Brian, Michael, Martin and Steven McGraw; two sisters, Miss Anne and Miss Kelly McGraw; a niece and several aunts and uncles.
PFC - E3 - Army - 1st Cav Division (AMBL)
Length of service 2 years
His tour began on Dec 14, 1965
Casualty was on Feb 1, 1966
MILITARY DATA:
Service: Army of the United States
Grade at loss: E3
Rank/Rate: Private First Class
ID No: 12680664
MOS/RATING: 11B20: Infantryman
Length Service: 02
Unit: A CO, 2ND BN, 12TH CAVALRY, 1ST CAV DIV, USARV
CASUALTY DATA:
Start Tour: 12/14/1965
Incident Date: 02/01/1966
Casualty Date: 02/01/1966
Age at Loss: 19
Location: Binh Dinh Province, South Vietnam
Remains: Body recovered
Casualty Type: Hostile, died outright
Casualty Reason: Ground casualty
Casualty Detail: Gun or small arms fire
In SOUTH VIETNAM
HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY
GUN, SMALL ARMS FIRE
Body was recovered
Panel 04E - Line 130
Thomas Edward McGraw was a Private First Class for the United States Army during the Vietnam War.
He died on February 01, 1966 at the age of 20 from small arms fire.
********************************************
MANLIUS, N.Y. – Just a toddler when her father was killed in Vietnam, Robyn DeCuffa was devastated when his Purple Heart medal disappeared from her Syracuse-area home years ago.
"The medal was really all that I did have from my father," said DeCuffa, a 51-year-old mother of eight from Cortland in central New York.
On Tuesday, DeCuffa and her mother will be reunited with Pfc. Thomas McGraw's Purple Heart, awarded after his death in an ambush in Vietnam on Feb. 1, 1966, while serving in the Army's 1st Cavalry Division.
Sarah Dallas, McGraw's widow, gave DeCuffa her father's Army medals and a photo album from his military service when she was 18. Years later, the Purple Heart disappeared while she was living outside Syracuse, where her father grew up. DeCuffa said someone likely stole the medal, but she wouldn't elaborate.
"It was a part of him I could physically hang on to," she said. "It was devastating when it was missing."
In the early 1990s, Jason Galloway found a Purple Heart on the playground at his suburban Syracuse elementary school. He later handed it in to the front office. Although McGraw's name was engraved on the back, apparently no effort was made to return it to its owner. When school ended for the year, the medal was given back to Jason, who brought it home.
Karen Galloway, Jason's mother, said the medal mostly sat in a drawer in the kitchen of her family's home in Liverpool. Every now and then, her husband would search the Internet in an effort to locate McGraw and return the medal, but had no luck finding any information. "We didn't put tons and tons of effort into it," she said.
Then, last Christmas, the now 34-year-old Jason and his wife were visiting from the Washington, D.C., area. Galloway's daughter-in-law saw the medal and asked why the family had it since Jason, an Air Force veteran, hadn't been wounded during his four-year service.
Told the story of how it was found at the school, Jason's wife said it would be "cool" to find its owner. Weeks later, the daughter-in-law called to say she had seen a local news story on Purple Hearts Reunited, a Vermont-based organization that returns lost or stolen military medals to veterans or their families.
Karen Galloway contacted the founder, Zachariah Fike, who traced the medal's origins and located DeCuffa, a manager for Capital Region Off-Track Betting, and Dallas, who lives in Mexico, New York.
"It almost feels like a miracle that this is being returned," said DeCuffa, whose second-oldest son is an Army veteran and whose second-oldest daughter is in the Air Force.
Fike will return the medal to DeCuffa and Dallas during a ceremony being held at the Cavalry Club, a former National Guard camp-turned-golf club in Manlius, outside Syracuse. Galloway and her husband plan to be there.
"I'm so excited about it," she said. "He lost his life and I think that it's really important that it gets back to his family."
********************************************
In Memory of…....... PFC Thomas Edward McGraw.
*** Posted on 9/21/12 - by Robert Sage - Thomas is buried at Assumption Cemetery, Syracuse,NY. PH
**I searched the stated plot or section and could not find the grave. I searched the area thoroughly; grave is unmarked.FAG Volunteer
You may be gone, no longer living on this earth; but you will live on - in the memories of your family and friends. There will always be a part of you living in those who knew you. You will live on because we remember you!
THOMAS EDWARD MCGRAW
Army - PFC - E3
Age: 19
Race: Caucasian
Date of Birth May 26, 1946
From: NORTH SYRACUSE, NY
Religion: ROMAN CATHOLIC
Marital Status: Married - Sarah Dallas, McGraw's widow. Daughter, Robyn Mc Graw DeCuffa, mother of eight from Cortland in central New York. Brother, Brian McGraw of Fayetteville. Parents: Mr. and Mrs. Francis (Muggsy) L. McGraw of North Syracuse; five brothers, Francis, Brian, Michael, Martin and Steven McGraw; two sisters, Miss Anne and Miss Kelly McGraw
***** Services for Pfc. Thomas Edward McGraw, 19, of 108/2 Mechanic . S t. t Fayeeville, who was killed Feb. 1 in combat in Viet Nam, will be at 8 a.m. Monday at the Eaton- Tubbs Funeral Home and 9 a.m. in 'St.' Rose of Lima Church, North Syracuse, where a solemn high requiem Mass will be celebrated.
Military burial will be in Assumption Cemetery. A former North Syracuse High School pupil, Pfc. McGraw received training at Fort Dix, N. J. and spent 16 months in Korea. He then was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, before leaving Dec. 13 for Viet Nam where he was with the First Cavalry Division.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Sarah Lee McGraw, daughter of Fayetteville. Police Chief Joseph DeMore; a daughter, Robyn McGraw; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Francis (Muggsy) L. McGraw of North Syracuse; five brothers, Francis, Brian, Michael, Martin and Steven McGraw; two sisters, Miss Anne and Miss Kelly McGraw; a niece and several aunts and uncles.
PFC - E3 - Army - 1st Cav Division (AMBL)
Length of service 2 years
His tour began on Dec 14, 1965
Casualty was on Feb 1, 1966
MILITARY DATA:
Service: Army of the United States
Grade at loss: E3
Rank/Rate: Private First Class
ID No: 12680664
MOS/RATING: 11B20: Infantryman
Length Service: 02
Unit: A CO, 2ND BN, 12TH CAVALRY, 1ST CAV DIV, USARV
CASUALTY DATA:
Start Tour: 12/14/1965
Incident Date: 02/01/1966
Casualty Date: 02/01/1966
Age at Loss: 19
Location: Binh Dinh Province, South Vietnam
Remains: Body recovered
Casualty Type: Hostile, died outright
Casualty Reason: Ground casualty
Casualty Detail: Gun or small arms fire
In SOUTH VIETNAM
HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY
GUN, SMALL ARMS FIRE
Body was recovered
Panel 04E - Line 130
Thomas Edward McGraw was a Private First Class for the United States Army during the Vietnam War.
He died on February 01, 1966 at the age of 20 from small arms fire.
********************************************
MANLIUS, N.Y. – Just a toddler when her father was killed in Vietnam, Robyn DeCuffa was devastated when his Purple Heart medal disappeared from her Syracuse-area home years ago.
"The medal was really all that I did have from my father," said DeCuffa, a 51-year-old mother of eight from Cortland in central New York.
On Tuesday, DeCuffa and her mother will be reunited with Pfc. Thomas McGraw's Purple Heart, awarded after his death in an ambush in Vietnam on Feb. 1, 1966, while serving in the Army's 1st Cavalry Division.
Sarah Dallas, McGraw's widow, gave DeCuffa her father's Army medals and a photo album from his military service when she was 18. Years later, the Purple Heart disappeared while she was living outside Syracuse, where her father grew up. DeCuffa said someone likely stole the medal, but she wouldn't elaborate.
"It was a part of him I could physically hang on to," she said. "It was devastating when it was missing."
In the early 1990s, Jason Galloway found a Purple Heart on the playground at his suburban Syracuse elementary school. He later handed it in to the front office. Although McGraw's name was engraved on the back, apparently no effort was made to return it to its owner. When school ended for the year, the medal was given back to Jason, who brought it home.
Karen Galloway, Jason's mother, said the medal mostly sat in a drawer in the kitchen of her family's home in Liverpool. Every now and then, her husband would search the Internet in an effort to locate McGraw and return the medal, but had no luck finding any information. "We didn't put tons and tons of effort into it," she said.
Then, last Christmas, the now 34-year-old Jason and his wife were visiting from the Washington, D.C., area. Galloway's daughter-in-law saw the medal and asked why the family had it since Jason, an Air Force veteran, hadn't been wounded during his four-year service.
Told the story of how it was found at the school, Jason's wife said it would be "cool" to find its owner. Weeks later, the daughter-in-law called to say she had seen a local news story on Purple Hearts Reunited, a Vermont-based organization that returns lost or stolen military medals to veterans or their families.
Karen Galloway contacted the founder, Zachariah Fike, who traced the medal's origins and located DeCuffa, a manager for Capital Region Off-Track Betting, and Dallas, who lives in Mexico, New York.
"It almost feels like a miracle that this is being returned," said DeCuffa, whose second-oldest son is an Army veteran and whose second-oldest daughter is in the Air Force.
Fike will return the medal to DeCuffa and Dallas during a ceremony being held at the Cavalry Club, a former National Guard camp-turned-golf club in Manlius, outside Syracuse. Galloway and her husband plan to be there.
"I'm so excited about it," she said. "He lost his life and I think that it's really important that it gets back to his family."
********************************************
*** Posted on 9/21/12 - by Robert Sage - Thomas is buried at Assumption Cemetery, Syracuse,NY. PH
**I searched the stated plot or section and could not find the grave. I searched the area thoroughly; grave is unmarked.FAG Volunteer
You may be gone, no longer living on this earth; but you will live on - in the memories of your family and friends. There will always be a part of you living in those who knew you. You will live on because we remember you!
THOMAS EDWARD MCGRAW
Army - PFC - E3
Age: 19
Race: Caucasian
Date of Birth May 26, 1946
From: NORTH SYRACUSE, NY
Religion: ROMAN CATHOLIC
Marital Status: Married - Sarah Dallas, McGraw's widow. Daughter, Robyn Mc Graw DeCuffa, mother of eight from Cortland in central New York. Brother, Brian McGraw of Fayetteville. Parents: Mr. and Mrs. Francis (Muggsy) L. McGraw of North Syracuse; five brothers, Francis, Brian, Michael, Martin and Steven McGraw; two sisters, Miss Anne and Miss Kelly McGraw
***** Services for Pfc. Thomas Edward McGraw, 19, of 108/2 Mechanic . S t. t Fayeeville, who was killed Feb. 1 in combat in Viet Nam, will be at 8 a.m. Monday at the Eaton- Tubbs Funeral Home and 9 a.m. in 'St.' Rose of Lima Church, North Syracuse, where a solemn high requiem Mass will be celebrated.
Military burial will be in Assumption Cemetery. A former North Syracuse High School pupil, Pfc. McGraw received training at Fort Dix, N. J. and spent 16 months in Korea. He then was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, before leaving Dec. 13 for Viet Nam where he was with the First Cavalry Division.
He is survived by his wife, Mrs. Sarah Lee McGraw, daughter of Fayetteville. Police Chief Joseph DeMore; a daughter, Robyn McGraw; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Francis (Muggsy) L. McGraw of North Syracuse; five brothers, Francis, Brian, Michael, Martin and Steven McGraw; two sisters, Miss Anne and Miss Kelly McGraw; a niece and several aunts and uncles.
PFC - E3 - Army - 1st Cav Division (AMBL)
Length of service 2 years
His tour began on Dec 14, 1965
Casualty was on Feb 1, 1966
MILITARY DATA:
Service: Army of the United States
Grade at loss: E3
Rank/Rate: Private First Class
ID No: 12680664
MOS/RATING: 11B20: Infantryman
Length Service: 02
Unit: A CO, 2ND BN, 12TH CAVALRY, 1ST CAV DIV, USARV
CASUALTY DATA:
Start Tour: 12/14/1965
Incident Date: 02/01/1966
Casualty Date: 02/01/1966
Age at Loss: 19
Location: Binh Dinh Province, South Vietnam
Remains: Body recovered
Casualty Type: Hostile, died outright
Casualty Reason: Ground casualty
Casualty Detail: Gun or small arms fire
In SOUTH VIETNAM
HOSTILE, GROUND CASUALTY
GUN, SMALL ARMS FIRE
Body was recovered
Panel 04E - Line 130
Thomas Edward McGraw was a Private First Class for the United States Army during the Vietnam War.
He died on February 01, 1966 at the age of 20 from small arms fire.
********************************************
MANLIUS, N.Y. – Just a toddler when her father was killed in Vietnam, Robyn DeCuffa was devastated when his Purple Heart medal disappeared from her Syracuse-area home years ago.
"The medal was really all that I did have from my father," said DeCuffa, a 51-year-old mother of eight from Cortland in central New York.
On Tuesday, DeCuffa and her mother will be reunited with Pfc. Thomas McGraw's Purple Heart, awarded after his death in an ambush in Vietnam on Feb. 1, 1966, while serving in the Army's 1st Cavalry Division.
Sarah Dallas, McGraw's widow, gave DeCuffa her father's Army medals and a photo album from his military service when she was 18. Years later, the Purple Heart disappeared while she was living outside Syracuse, where her father grew up. DeCuffa said someone likely stole the medal, but she wouldn't elaborate.
"It was a part of him I could physically hang on to," she said. "It was devastating when it was missing."
In the early 1990s, Jason Galloway found a Purple Heart on the playground at his suburban Syracuse elementary school. He later handed it in to the front office. Although McGraw's name was engraved on the back, apparently no effort was made to return it to its owner. When school ended for the year, the medal was given back to Jason, who brought it home.
Karen Galloway, Jason's mother, said the medal mostly sat in a drawer in the kitchen of her family's home in Liverpool. Every now and then, her husband would search the Internet in an effort to locate McGraw and return the medal, but had no luck finding any information. "We didn't put tons and tons of effort into it," she said.
Then, last Christmas, the now 34-year-old Jason and his wife were visiting from the Washington, D.C., area. Galloway's daughter-in-law saw the medal and asked why the family had it since Jason, an Air Force veteran, hadn't been wounded during his four-year service.
Told the story of how it was found at the school, Jason's wife said it would be "cool" to find its owner. Weeks later, the daughter-in-law called to say she had seen a local news story on Purple Hearts Reunited, a Vermont-based organization that returns lost or stolen military medals to veterans or their families.
Karen Galloway contacted the founder, Zachariah Fike, who traced the medal's origins and located DeCuffa, a manager for Capital Region Off-Track Betting, and Dallas, who lives in Mexico, New York.
"It almost feels like a miracle that this is being returned," said DeCuffa, whose second-oldest son is an Army veteran and whose second-oldest daughter is in the Air Force.
Fike will return the medal to DeCuffa and Dallas during a ceremony being held at the Cavalry Club, a former National Guard camp-turned-golf club in Manlius, outside Syracuse. Galloway and her husband plan to be there.
"I'm so excited about it," she said. "He lost his life and I think that it's really important that it gets back to his family."
********************************************
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