Specialist Four Thomas George Bernardy
U.S. Army | Vietnam War
Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment
3rd Brigade, 25th Infantry Division
Date of Birth: April 20, 1948
Home of Record: Killeen, Texas
KIA: January 2, 1968 – Tay Ninh Province, South Vietnam (Fire Support Base Burt)
Thomas George Bernardy grew up in the Army town of Killeen, Texas, within sight of the posts and training areas where so many soldiers prepared to deploy. Like many young men of his generation, he followed the call to serve and enlisted in the United States Army during the Vietnam War.
In Vietnam, Thomas served with Headquarters & Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 22nd Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. Fellow soldiers remembered him as “Doc,” a calm, mature presence who took his role as medic seriously. During operations in the field and back on the fire support base, he was known for moving quickly to wounded soldiers, providing immediate care under fire, and doing everything he could to keep his brothers alive.
On the night of January 1–2, 1968, Thomas and his battalion manned the perimeter of Fire Support Base Burt when enemy forces launched a massive coordinated assault. Mortar fire and human-wave attacks hammered the position for hours. In the chaos of that night, while caring for his fellow soldiers, Specialist Four Thomas G. Bernardy was killed in action by fragmentation wounds. He was only 19 years old.
For his courage and sacrifice, Thomas Bernardy was awarded the Bronze Star Medal (with oak leaf cluster) and the Purple Heart. His name is etched on Panel 33E, Line 15 of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington, D.C., and he rests at Killeen Memorial Park in his Texas hometown.
Today, we remember him not only as a name on the Wall, but as a young medic who chose to spend his New Year’s night in a bunker far from home, doing everything he could to save others. His story is woven into the larger story of the New Year’s Battle of 1968 and the generations who still carry those memories.
mickyspano.com/ and The Micky Spano Show proudly honor Specialist Four Thomas George Bernardy as our Veteran of the Day, and we extend our gratitude to his family, his friends, and his fellow “Triple Deuce” soldiers who keep his memory alive.
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