Don Thomson was a Reserve Officers Training Corps graduate from the University of Nebraska. After his graduation, he was commissioned into the Infantry, where he was sent to his first station in Fort Bay, Georgia. From there, he proceeded to take on his first assignment in Germany. After arriving at Freiburg on Christmas Eve of 1965, Don proceeded to serve various positions for a little over 2 years. In 1968, he was invited to Vietnam, where he served from July of 1968 to July of 1969. He returned home and taught ROTC at the University of South Dakota for a few years. Don was then given the choice to either return to Vietnam or go with the Advance Force, where he decided to choose the latter. He was sent back to Germany to serve with the Fifth Infantry Division for 39 months; however, for the last 15 months, he took part in aviation operations, where he flew in the back seat of an F-44 fighter plane. After his second time in Germany, he ended up in Fort Riley, Kansas, where he remained until the end of his military career.
Don has been a member of the American Legion since 1977 and has attended Boys State for the last 10 years. When asked about his time at Boys State, he replied with “I love it. That’s why I come back every year.” He enjoys watching new Staters come into the program and change over the course of the week. He continued by saying “seems to me that the quality of our Staters increases every year. I don’t know if that’s a product of smarter kids or better parenting, or what it is.” Don has led an extraordinary life and continues to serve the youth by leading them in a path of leadership and dedication. Thank you, Don, for your service.]]>
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