AL ASAD, Iraq -- To honor and perhaps gain inspiration from one of their finest the corpsmen at Al Asad, Iraq, renamed their medical facility after Petty Officer 3rd Class Christopher Thompson, who was killed in action late last year, during a ceremony, during a ceremony, Feb. 6.
Thompson, assigned to 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, was serving his second tour in Iraq when his vehicle struck an improvised explosive device, killing him and the Marines onboard.
Petty Officer 1st Class Michael Stillford led the effort to rename the clinic because he said Thompson embodies the qualities corpsmen should strive to emulate. He said some of his fellow Sailors can get lost in their daily routine, not realizing the importance of the work they do.
“Having his name up there reminds us we’re all family out here,” said Stillford, a Levittown, Pa., native. “We don’t always see the big picture, but we come to work every day to help each other and help our patients.”
Many of the corpsmen who work at the clinic knew Thompson before his death. Stillford went through Fleet Marine Medical School with him, where corpsmen learn what it takes to serve with Marines. Petty Officer 2nd Class Jonathan M. Penich remembers when Thompson first joined 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines.
“Thompson was a motivated kid,” said Penich. “He really knew his stuff. He was a great corpsman who took care of his Marines.”
Many Marines and their families benefited from Thompson’s bravery and dedication. Corpsmen are famous for never leaving the side of their Marines, regardless of circumstance, and Thompson was no different. During Aug. 22, 2004, he saved the lives of Marines in his company during intense fighting in the Al Anbar Province, Iraq. His actions that day were heroic enough to earn him a Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with a Combat ‘V’, one of the Navy’s highest awards for military valor.
“This is someone who we knew and affected our lives,” said Stillford. “This (renaming and dedication) is a way for the corpsmen and all military personnel to remember someone who’s gone before them, and remember who he was.”
Stillford and those who took part in the dedication ceremony know they can never fully honor such a great sacrifice, but they refuse to let Thompson be forgotten. Al Asad’s medical clinic is often the first place wounded military personnel go for emergency care. The clinic is on the frontlines in the war to save Marines’ lives. Now, it’s named after someone who gave his life for that cause.