[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 150 (Monday, September 22, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S9170-S9171]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       HONORING OUR ARMED FORCES


                    Master Sergeant Thomas L. Bruner

  Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to one of 
Kentucky's great heroes in uniform. MSG Thomas L. Bruner of Owensboro, 
KY, was tragically lost while serving his country in Afghanistan on 
October 28, 2007. A proud member of the Army Reserves for many years, 
he was 50 years old.
  For his valor in uniform, Master Sergeant Bruner received several 
medals, decorations, and awards, including the Meritorious Service 
Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, two Army Commendation 
Medals, two Army Achievement Medals, the Army Good Conduct Medal, the 
National Defense Service Medal with two Bronze Service Stars, and two 
Armed Forces Reserve Medals with ``M'' device.
  Those who knew him will remember Master Sergeant Bruner--or, as 
friends called him, ``Tommy''--as a family man. ``Family was first to 
him,'' says his brother, Robert Bruner. ``It was all the time family, 
family, family, everywhere he went.''
  He was devoted to his wife Jane Bruner, to whom he was married for 27 
years. They met in a club where she served bar. Night after night, he 
would walk in and notice her. Jane was skeptical at first, but 
eventually Tommy convinced one of her friends to trick Jane into going 
out with him after the club closed. ``He spoiled me rotten,'' Jane 
recalls. ``He would do everything for me. He was my everything . . . my 
life.''
  Jane's two sons, Tom-Tom and Brian Sanefur, became Tommy's stepsons, 
and he loved them like his own. ``He was always there,'' Brian 
remembers. ``He was a good father, husband, and friend.''
  Perhaps even better than fatherhood was grandfatherhood. Tommy had 
three grandkids--T.J., Jacob, and ``Baby'' Grace--and loved playing 
with them. ``He lived for those grandkids,'' Jane says. She remembers 
how it was not uncommon for Tommy to crawl down on the floor with them 
and watch cartoon after cartoon.
  The most exciting holiday in the Bruner household was Christmas 
because Tommy outdid everyone on decorations. He was able to spend each 
Christmas at home. ``He had reindeer, he had lights, a snowman, a 
sled,'' Jane recalls. ``We've always had big Christmases.'' While 
serving in Afghanistan, Tommy even told Jane that he had gone to a 
bazaar there and done some Christmas shopping for her and the children.
  Soon before his passing, Tommy and Jane built a new house together in 
Owensboro, and Tommy helped pick out the colors. The couple saved up 
their money until they could build a home of their dreams. Jane has 
planted a white dogwood tree now at the house in Tommy's memory.
  In that house, Tommy turned the garage into what Jane calls his ``war 
room,'' where he put up pictures of battles from the Revolutionary War 
to Operation Enduring Freedom. It was his little getaway, and Jane has 
left it just as it was.
  Tommy was a veteran soldier, having served on Active Duty from 1975 
to 1979 and then joined the Army Reserves in 1981. He volunteered to 
serve in Afghanistan because he wanted to help train the younger 
soldiers and was deployed with Headquarters, 2nd Brigade, 100th 
Division, U.S. Army Reserve, based out of Owensboro, KY. ``He wanted to 
go, and I said, `There's no way I'm going to stop you from doing what 
you want to do,' '' Jane says. ``He was just a soldier doing his job, 
and he loved it.''

  Jane also recalls that Tommy said he loved it in Afghanistan. He 
thought the country was beautiful, and he was trying to learn the 
language. He told Jane the mission in Afghanistan was the highlight of 
his career.
  Patrick Rowe, the training coordinator at the Owensboro Army Reserve 
Center, recalls Tommy's bond with his fellow soldiers. ``He knew his 
guys,'' Patrick said. ``You could ask him anything about anybody.''
  At home, Tommy attended Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church and 
worked as manager at the Don Moore Auto Mall. They appreciated him 
there because he was ``so picky,'' Jane says. He paid attention to 
every detail. He had been planning to retire after his latest tour, but 
Jane thinks he still would have worked there to give himself something 
to do.
  Tommy died of a heart attack while serving his country in 
Afghanistan. Jane knew something was wrong because Tommy called her 
every day, until one day he did not call.
  Our thoughts are with his many loved ones after such a loss. We are 
thinking of his wife Jane; his stepsons, Tom and Brian Sanefur; his 
mother Martha; his grandmother Virginia; his grandchildren, T.J., 
Jacob, and Grace Sanefur; his brother Robert; and many other beloved 
friends and family members.
  Jane received an insurance settlement after Tommy died. She decided 
she already had everything she wanted, so she gave the money to the 
grandchildren. ``It is what he would have wanted,'' Jane said.
  I express my deepest sympathies to Jane Bruner and to all of her and 
Tommy's family. I would like them to know this Senate honors MSG Thomas 
L. Bruner's great devotion and his sacrifice, and we offer our deepest 
gratitude to him and his family for all they have given our Nation.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor.

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