Thomas P. Meredith
Agency patch
Sergeant

Thomas P. Meredith

Accident Veteran →
End of Watch June 11, 1982
Age 21
Tour of Duty 3 yrs 11 mo
The Vigil Panel 125 ›
Gender Male

Incident

Sergeant Thomas Meredith, Senior Airman Marion Pace, Senior Airman David Jones, Staff Sergeant Richard Bohling, and their two pilots were all killed when their UH-1F Iroquois helicopter crashed near Passaic, Missouri.

All four Security Policeman were providing security for a routine Air Force convoy transporting weapons system from AFB Whiteman to a launch silo near Passaic, Mo. An Air Force investigation revealed the helicopter's main rotor blade dipped out of position and struck the tail of the aircraft, which then broke apart.

Sergeant Meredith served with the United States Air Force Security Forces for less than four years. He was assigned to the 352nd Missile Security Squadron.

Sergeant Thomas Meredith, Senior Airman Marion Pace, Senior Airman David Jones, Staff Sergeant Richard Bohling, and their two pilots were all killed when their UH-1F Iroquois helicopter crashed near Passaic, Missouri.

I was assigned to the same security flight with Thomas. I remember him as a big, fun loving guy. We called him Tiny. I was transferred over seas a year before the accident and a friend told me about it in later years. I’m so sorry this happened and pray he knew the Lord Jesus before. I wish I could have visited his family to give my condolences and tell them what a good guy he was.

Mark Furr SSGT USAF December 13th, 2024

In Our Keeping

Permanent identifier
BO-US-FED-5ACC0C76
Stewardship
Maintained by NeuraWeb Global Inc.
Added to badge.nw
April 2, 2026
Last updated
July 23, 2026

Honored here by 1 sentinel - 1 tribute.

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Tributes

I served 1985 to 1993. You served too, before the badge - different uniform, same idea. You go where you are sent and you do not get to pick the call.
Sergeant Meredith gave the United States Air Force Security Forces 3 years.
Thank you for your service. Gone but never to be forgotten.
Rest easy, brother.

— S. Vincent Anthony, U.S. Army 1985-1993

Agency

Location JBSA-Lackland, TX
Platform Identity usafsffed.fed.us.gov.nw

Service Record

End of Watch June 11, 1982
Tour of Duty 3 yrs 11 mo
Age 21
Gender Male

Incident Details

Cause Accident

Military Service

Thomas P. Meredith served in the Other (1978–1982) before joining law enforcement.

View full service record on salute.nw →

Sergeant Thomas P. Meredith is one of 10,088 officers lost to accidents in the line of duty across the full record of this memorial — 31% of all 32,508 officers honored here.

In TX, 653 of 2,421 officers were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 27% of this state's fallen. That is 4 percentage points below the national rate of 31%.

At United States Air Force Security Forces, 28 of 41 officers on record were lost to accidents in the line of duty — 68.3% of this agency's fallen.

United States Air Force Security Forces
28
of 41 officers
68.3% Accident
TX — Statewide
653
of 2,421 officers
27% Accident
Nationwide
10,088
of 32,508 officers
31% Accident

National Cause Distribution

How Accident compares to all causes of officer death in the memorial record. Thomas P. Meredith's cause is highlighted.

Felonious
17,623 (54.2%)
Accident
10,088 (31%)
Illness
2,974 (9.1%)
Cardiac
1,306 (4%)
Undetermined
260 (0.8%)
Suicide
256 (0.8%)
vehicular
1 (0%)

How Thomas P. Meredith Compares

Age at End of Watch
21
This officer
Avg for Accident: 38.1 years
Years of Service
3.9
This officer
Avg for Accident: 9.1 years

When Accident Deaths Occur

Monthly distribution of Accident deaths across the full memorial record. Thomas P. Meredith is highlighted in Jun.

Jan
820
Feb
730
Mar
748
Apr
707
May
847
Jun
795
Jul
897
Aug
937
Sep
913
Oct
925
Nov
872
Dec
897

Incident Location