CSM (R) Tom Eagan

Command Sergeant Major (Retired) Tom Eagan sat down with me for Heroes Live.

Washington, Indiana. Small. Bloomington first. Then Orlando. Then Shoals. Jug Rock. Then down the road again. Corn. Hogs. They pulled kernels off the cob and threw them at cars.

His father printed a colored newspaper in Indiana. New job in Florida. Then they arrested him for trafficking drugs. Third grade. They pulled Tom out of school. Courthouse. Say goodbye. Saw him once before they went back to Indiana. Did not see him again until high school graduation. Dad had just gotten out. Last time was a phone call. Deathbed. They needed Tom to pull the plug.

Before that it was privilege. North Orlando. Two lakes. Backyard bigger than a football field. After prison it went downhill. Food stamps. School paid for lunch. School bought the shoes and the glasses so he could play sports. Football. Wrestling. Basketball. Track. He could run then.

Awards banquet. Leading defensive player. Did not get the award. A coach walked off the stage and said that is what happens when you live in HUD housing. The kid who won. His dad owned half the city. People told Tom he was not smart enough for college. Army recruiter showed up the last week of football his senior year. Next day after the game he was at MEPS in Louisville.

1985. Graduated in May. Shipped in August. Hawk. Fort Bliss. Logan Heights. Drill sergeants Bush and Smalls. Bobby Brown. Steve Rogers. The MEPS guys said he was no rocket scientist but a little smarter than the rest and finished him before lunch. He landed in Hawk. Basic was easy on the body. It got his attention. Drive to excel.

Joe Benson was a fan. Tom took care of him in the schoolhouse. Space Brigade. Pikes Peak. Fourteen miles up. He lives in San Antonio now. Too big. He wants country again.

His advice. When you leave that parade field the only people standing there are your family. He sacrificed a lot of his. Huge regret. Keep them close. Put them in front. Battery. Attached. Outlaw 7 signing out. That is why we hit record. Get the story on tape before we are too old or too sick to tell it.