Lieutenant Thomas Alfred “Tommy” Medinger ‘51
Thomas Alfred “Tommy” Medinger was born in El Paso TX on December 15, 1929 to Mr. and Mrs. Joe P Medinger Sr. He had five brothers and two sisters. The family resided in Las Cruces until he and his father moved to Garfield in 1945 upon the death of his mother. He graduated from Hatch HS in 1947 and entered NMAMC the following year. In June 1951 he graduated with his degree in Business Administration and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant. Two days after graduating, he married Elizabeth Jane Linton of Hatch. In August 1951 he was ordered to active duty at Fort Benning Georgia for fifteen weeks of training. In January 1952 he embarked for Japan and was assigned to Camp Crawford, Sapporo, Hokkaido Island for ninety days of training. On August 15, 1952 he was ordered to Korea as a replacement officer. He arrived at 27th Infantry Regimental headquarters August 24th and was assigned 1st Platoon Commander of Company A. Lieutenant Medinger arrived at the front lines at Hill 1052 “Sandbag Castle in the Satae-ri Valley on August 25th . By the fall of 1952 the war had turned into a war of attrition as North Korean forces attempted to wear down and force the Allied forces off their well-defended outposts along the 38th parallel. On September 6, 1952 the North Koreans launched their 6th offensive of the war.
On that same day, while acting as forward observer at Hill 1052 (Sandbag Castle) in the Satae-ri Valley, North Korea, Lt. Tommy Medinger was seriously wounded by an enemy 120mm mortar explosion. He died from his wounds at 6:00 pm that evening. His brother, Captain Robert Medinger, arrived in Japan at the time of Tommy’s death and accompanied his body home to Las Cruces where he lies buried in the Masonic Cemetery. He was survived by his wife, Elizabeth Jane Medinger, who was teaching school in Hobbs NM at the time of his death.
Lieutenant Thomas A Medinger was 22 years old at the time of his death in service to his country.