Janesville Vietnam veteran 'drove on' for fallen comrades
Tom Brickman gathered photos of all Iowans killed in Vietnam, sent them to Washington D.C. and Waterloo museum.
JANESVILLE — You couldn’t have a bad day around Tom Brickman. He wouldn’t let you.
He’d seen plenty of bad days in Vietnam — and plenty of comrades who didn’t come back.
He also didn’t think they should be forgotten, or reduced simply to a list and statistics. He felt people should see them and remember the kind of people they were.
Tom passed away Dec. 17. One of his most satisfying achievements was a tribute to each and every Iowan who fell in the war in which he served.
Tom and his daughter Shari Kirkpatrick secured photos of all the 800-plus Iowans who were killed in the Vietnam War. He sent them to the national Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington - “the Wall “ - and they can be looked up and seen online at virtualwall.org. as well as on the Facebook page “Faces To Go With Names: Iowa's Fallen Vietnam Soldiers.”
He also provided them to the Grout Museum District for the "Faces To Go With Names" kiosk in the permanent Vietnam exhibit in the Grout's Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum, where I am now employed. They started in 2012; it took them about three to four years to complete the project.
Tom and Shari received national and statewide recognition and accolades for that accomplishment. I covered Tom’s and Shari’s work as a reporter for the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier, as did many other news organizations. His efforts were boosted by national coverage from CBS News and online Vietnam veteran networks.
"Every time we were on TV or in the newspaper that really gave us a boost," he told me in a Courier interview in 2014 when they were nearing the finish line.
Tom was motivated to do it after he visited the traveling "Wall That Heals," a mobile replica of "The Wall" in Washington. He was deeply moved and inspired to gather the photos. He always said getting a photo of a fallen service member really personalized and drove home the signifcance of that service member's life and the impact of their service and loss.
He also helped the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum staff gather some photos for Iowans killed in the Korean War for the "Faces of the Fallen" kiosk at the museum, still a work in progress.
Tom also prepared and served chili for several Sullivan Brothers Veterans Memorial 5K/10K runs and other events at the museum -- including the 2022 run, even after he had been diagnosed with bladder cancer.
I remember during my first year at the museum, in 2018, Tom had stopped to drop off some photos and then went out to talk to a group of little kids on a tour. He was like a a rock star to them. It was great. I've compared it to the scene with Buzz Lightyear in the arcade claw machine in the original "Toy Story." You could hear the "oohs" and 'aahs" from the kids, about half Tom’s height. That's the way every veteran should be received and Tom was very deserving.
Tom served with the U.S. Army's 196th Light Infantry Brigade in Vietnam in 1967-68. He survived the 1968 Tet offensive and received four battle stars and an Army Commendation Medal for his service. He donated his fatigues, field jacket and other items to the Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans museum.
He was a longtime custodian at the Janesville Schools. Tom also was for several years a devoted caregiver to his wife and life companion of 57 years, Char. I was at their house in 2018 when Tom, a pretty good cook himself, was playing official "taste tester" to Char's potato salad she was whipping up for a Memorial Day dinner at the Janesville American Legion post where Tom was very active. They were a sweet couple together.
Those of us who worked with Tom will miss his positive attitude and uplifting spirit - no matter what. He'd boost your spirits no matter what mood you were in, in spite of yourself.
Like so many 'Nam vets, he "drove on," and everyone who knew him was the richer for it. His effort, along with the faces and names of his fallen comrades, will be preserved for posterity.
"May they rest in peace and never be forgotten,"Tom told me in the 2014 Courier interview. "That's why we did this."
Pat Kinney is a freelance writer and former longtime news staffer with the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier and, prior to that, several years at the Ames Tribune. He is currently an oral historian with the Grout Museum District in Waterloo. His “View from the Cedar Valley” column is part of “Iowa Writers Collaborative,” a collection of news and opinion writers from around the state who previously and currently work with a host of Iowa newspapers, news organizations and other publications. Click on their links below to sample their work.
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