Thomas E. Firth was born on November 3, 1944, to William E. and Kathryn Pope Firth. His family moved to Little Silver, NJ, in 1947. His home of record is Little Silver, NJ. He had one brother, William, and one sister, Marion. Thomas attended Valley Forge Military Academy.

He joined the US Marine Corps in 1963 and attained the rank of Lance Corporal (LCPL).

Firth was killed in action during his second tour of duty in Vietnam on August 18, 1965, in Quang Tin, South Vietnam.

A funeral service was held at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Little Silver. He is buried in Fairview Cemetery in Middletown, NJ.

He received a number of awards and decorations including the Purple Heart Medal, the Good Citizen Award, the Vietnam Service Medal and the National Defense Service Medal.

Thomas E. Firth was my younger brother. I was 5½ years old when Tom was born. My sister, Marion was 7½ years old. We grew up in Little Silver, NJ, on Willow Drive. By the time Tom was walking and running around, I was off with my own friends. My sister took care of Tom a lot. He was a typical little brother, always in my way. But as we grew older, we had a special brother bond. We spent all of our summers at a beach club in Sea Bright with our mom, cousins, our Aunt Alice Ticehurst and Aunt Jean Layton. I remember Tom’s Long Branch Daily Record newspaper delivery job where he rode his horse, Ginger, to deliver the papers. We had memorable holidays and large family dinners. When I was away at college, Tom went to Valley Forge Military Academy. He then enlisted in the Marines. I was in the Army at that time. I was in Hartford, CT, when I got word that my brother had been killed in action on August 18, 1965. On that same day, Marion’s son was turning three.

I have three children, William Jr., Lisa and Tom. Tom is named after his uncle.

Written by William B. Firth, Sr., Brother

Source: William and Dolores Firth (brother and sister-in-law), various websites and NJVVMF.
12/17/2024