Thomas A. Wren,  LTC, 1/317

    November 17, 1960 - November 5, 2005

 
The Washington Post
Wednesday, November 9, 2005

A Fairfax County father of five was killed in Iraq last week when the Humvee he was in crashed, becoming one of the highest-ranking casualties in the war so far, Army officials said yesterday.

Lieuteanat Colonel Thomas A. Wren, 44, of Lorton died Saturday in Tallil, southeast of Baghdad, when a civilian vehicle pulled in front of the Humvee, causing it to roll down an embankment. Wren, the recipient of a Bronze Star for service in Bosnia, was one of only 12 lieutenant colonels killed in Iraq.

Family members said Wren had recently met the love of his life, Holly Wren, whom he married July 4, two months after their son, Tyler, was born.

"Everyone says they just don't remember either of them being so happy," said Holly's mother, Audrey Thomasson of White Stone, Va. "She keeps saying he had such a wonderful, big heart."

"They never even lived together," Thomasson said, adding that her daughter was asleep in the next room with one of her husband's shirts. "She has not spent one married day with him."

Wren also had four children from a previous marriage.

A longtime reservist who had also seen combat in Afghanistan, Wren was on his third tour of duty and had recently been promoted to a job that involved training Iraqi military rather than combat missions, said his younger brother, Tim Puckett of Tampa.

"We really weren't that worried this time," he said.

Wren came from a family of veterans. His father served in Vietnam, and his grandfather was in World War II and the Korean War. His own interest in the Army dated to when he was a boy in elementary school, Puckett said.

"He was GI Joe from the word go," he said. "For Halloween, he was GI Joe. For Christmas. Any time he could dress up, he would."

 LTC Wren's page at Arlington Cemetery website

80th Division suffers first fatality in Iraq
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Culpeper Star Exponent
Monday, November 7, 2005

Thomas A. Wren, a 44-year-old lieutenant colonel from Lorton, was killed Saturday in a humvee accident, becoming the Richmond-based 80th Division's first fatality in Iraq.

According to a military press release, Wren was one of four occupants in the humvee when it rolled over during non-combat-related activities in an undisclosed location. The cause is still under investigation.

The 80th Division encompasses the Army's 3rd Battalion, 317th Regiment, which is based out of Culpeper.

Lt. Col. Wren was the coalition base command adviser for the Talil Air Base and was assigned to the Multi-National Security Transition Coalition. He was a highly decorated, 24-year member of the Army, having served in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. Wren was also assigned to a variety of positions in the Mid-Atlantic, including stints in Alexandria, Charlottesville and Culpeper.
The lieutenant colonel, who was married over the summer, leaves behind a wife, two daughters (ages 26 and 12), three sons (ages 18, 16 and six months), a brother, two sisters and his mother.

Funeral arrangements are pending. Dottie McDowney of the Culpeper Unit Family Support will be assisting the family.