An Orangeburg neighborhood mourned and reflected Tuesday on the life of one of its own, U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Anthony Orlando Thompson.

"I took Anthony as my own son. He didn't give anybody any trouble," said Orangewood Drive neighbor Eleanor Baker, who recalled befriending Thompson during his boyhood years and then throughout his adolescence. "I was hurt when I heard that he was killed. I've got a grandniece and nephew over there. It made me think about them."

Thompson was killed in an ambush late Thursday, Sept. 18, as he, along with two colleagues, were inspecting a suspected weapons site near Tikrit, Iraq.

He was an artillery fire support specialist with the 4th Battalion, 42nd Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Infantry Division, stationed at Fort Hood near Killeen, Texas.

Thompson's death has Baker fearing for her own children and has given her second thoughts about the ongoing U.S. presence overseas.

"We should get our families back home as quick as we can," she said. "The news about Anthony took everything out of me. I pray that they bring our children home."

Neighbor Dorothy Curry had an opportunity to develop a relationship with Thompson's mother, Hattie, at Ambler Industries where she worked for a few months.

"She was a nice person and what I remember of Anthony, he was a nice young man too," she said.

Mary Haynes echoed this sentiment.

"They were a nice family, very nice," she said. "I knew Anthony since he was a baby. He was a quiet young man with a pleasant personality. He was always respectful of older people."

Orangewood Drive resident of 30 years, Earl Fersner, said in many ways he thought the young Thompson looked up to him as a male role model.

"I think he took me as a father figure," Fersner said, pointing out that he knew Thompson from a young age. "He was a fine kid in the neighborhood. He was respectful and disciplined. A loving son any mother would like to have. He was always willing to strive for something better. He had a sister in Texas who was in the military and I think that's where he decided to go in the military; following in his sister's footsteps."

Friend Carrie Pressley recalled Thompson as one " always with a smile on his face."

"Anthony was a quiet person," she said. "He always visited the neighborhood when he came in town. He was a nice, smart fellow, and mannerable."

Twenty-year old Furman Mintz described the soldier "like a big brother to me. We used to play ball together in the neighborhood; football, basketball, baseball. He was a nice guy."

Friend Morio Miller, 19, credited the elder Thompson for keeping him on the proverbial 'straight and narrow.'

"Anthony was always on top of things. He was always trying to keep us out of trouble. He was a loving person. I couldn't believe it when I heard he was killed."

Mrs. Emma Perryman, who now resides in Thompson's former residence, last saw the young soldier in April when he brought her a copy of his mother's obituary. He was a man, she said, who was very close to his mother.

"I was hurt when I heard that he'd been killed," she said. "It seems like I just saw him yesterday. That war shouldn't have gotten started; all our young boys over there getting killed. He will be missed."

Evelyn Mack, a classmate of Thompson and part of the Orangeburg-Wilkinson High School graduating class of 1995, said though a "quiet" individual, Thompson "was a good student. I think he was an 'A' student."

T&D Staff Writers Gene Zaleski and Thomas Brown can be reached in the T&D newsroom at 803-534-1060.

You must be logged in to comment.