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Post by cbuehler on Sept 28, 2015 12:00:57 GMT 8
Wow, what a shocker! He was as very important contributor to this forum as we all know. One clarification here, the accident happened in Frisco Texas, not San Francisco California where I live. (My bad. Thankyou, the record stands corrected - Registrar.)
My condolences to his family and friends.
CB
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Post by westernaus on Sept 28, 2015 17:33:46 GMT 8
This is a great loss and even greater for the people who knew Tom personally . My condolences . May you rest in peace Phantom .
We had a simular accident out here in the west ( Western Australia ) about 2 weeks ago . A young fellow was texting on his RU machine and lost control crossed a medium strip on the freeway and crashed in to a bus and 2 cars . Two people lost their lives because of texting whilst driving on that day . Now the cops out here in the West are using unmarked highway patrol motor bikes to catch people who are texting while driving . So many have been injured and lost their lives due to this practice in this State .
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Post by okla on Sept 28, 2015 23:01:06 GMT 8
Hey All....In my humble, these "Texting While Driving" people should be prosecuted just as severely as are Drunk Drivers. If memory serves, more accidents, etc, are caused as a result of the former than the latter, according to some recent report.
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Post by cbuehler on Sept 28, 2015 23:53:22 GMT 8
Hey All....In my humble, these "Texting While Driving" people should be prosecuted just as severely as are Drunk Drivers. If memory serves, more accidents, etc, are caused as a result of the former than the latter, according to some recent report. Agreed! This cell phone addiction has a bad side that is not being addressed in terms of its impact on daily life, and driving is just one aspect. Put the phone away! |
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Post by Karl Welteke on Sept 29, 2015 10:23:06 GMT 8
Friends What a shock, I am extremely saddened. We had met in the Philippines many times and I always enjoyed his company. He as a past Peace Corp Volunteer in the Philippines and me, residing in the Philippines, shared many stories about our experiences. My most sincere and deepest condolences to his family; I will miss him, especially when I visit Corregidor again. Karl  W134 Karl, John (fots2), Steve, Paul (EXO) and Tom Aring at one of the real senior officer quarters (one level only), Topside, Corregidor on the 16th Feb. 2008. I forgot whose camera shot this image.  W135 Tom Aring at the ex Fort Mills, Corregidor Island on the 18th Feb. 2009 |
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Post by batteryboy on Sept 30, 2015 13:31:04 GMT 8
To All, I just got a an email from Remee using Tom's email address. She requested that I post this link of Tom's Obituary: Hello Tony. This is Remee, Tom's wife. Can you post this link for Tom's obituary. obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Thomas-Aring&lc=4270&pid=175957031&mid=6611691Kindly visit by clicking the link. Thanks
TOM'S OBITUARYThomas Charles Aring was born on January 23, 1951 in Rock Island, Illinois to Russell Aring and Maryrose Miller. Thomas departed this life on September 26, 2015 at the age of 64. He grew up in Illinois with his six siblings, Robert, Mary Elizabeth, Joseph, William, Jeanne, and Paul. Tom attended St. Joseph elementary, Alleman Catholic High School, and Augustana College where he received a bachelors degree in History. After serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in the Philippines from 1973 to 1976, where he met Remedios, his wife of 40 years, he began his career in the retail industry. He started out in the grocery business as a night crew chief for Eagles in Illinois. He later moved his family to Dallas to work as a store manager and subsequently as a district manager for Eckerd Drug Corporation where he spent the bulk of his career. His passion was researching the WWII island of Corregidor in the Philippines and trekked to this island almost every year for the last 15 years. He dedicated countless hours reading books on the subject, to personal conversations with a number of Corregidor WWII Veterans and other Corregidor history enthusiasts during his trips to the island and attendance of WWII Vets reunions in the US. He found personal satisfaction and delight in posting his insights in website forums and blogs to uncover the lost history of that island, which he and his colleagues lovingly referred to as The Rock. Tom relished spending time with his family at home on the stone patio which the family built with a fire pit because he so loved building a fire. He was aptly named "Prairie Fire" during his Father and son Indian Guides camping trips. He loved to cook out on his grill, and to tend to his yard and vegetable and flower garden. He is the ultimate optimist always hoping to have a good harvest of tomatoes in an unforgiving Texas heat. He was a kind, compassionate, loving, thoughtful man whose loving heart touched many lives. His employees and associates admired and respected him for his rare insight and uncanny ability to read people and treat them with deep empathy. Thomas is survived by his wife, Remedios Bondoc Aring, his two children, Stephen Aring of Aubrey, Texas (married to Allison Stella Aring) and Kelly Coffman of Denver, Colorado (married to Shane Coffman). He is also survived by his two grandsons, Liam and Aidan Aring, his brothers Robert, Joseph and William (all of Illinois), and his sisters Mary Beth Aring (of Delaware) and Jeanne Bennett (of Washington). The family will have a wake Wednesday, September 30th from 5:00 – 8:00 PM and a memorial service Thursday, October 1st from 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM immediately followed by a reception. All services will be help at Ted Dickey West Funeral Home, 7990 President George Bush Turnpike, Dallas, TX 75252. |
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Post by Registrar on Sept 30, 2015 13:52:11 GMT 8
I am re-posting this message from Rich Schneider, also concerning his old friend Tom Aring:
"I am a friend of Tom Aring. I have known him since we met in the Philippines during the 1970s. He was the best man at my wedding. He introduced me to Karl in the hope that I could relocate the Aetas that I worked with at the base of Mount Pinatubo. We were successful in finding some of the people that I worked with as a Peace Corps volunteer in 1969. Tom had a special place in his heart for your group that is easy to understand. You were Tom's friends and that all is all I need to know. I will mourn his passing, but celebrate his life. It is nice to know that I will not be alone. Rich Schneider"
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Post by tmayer on Oct 1, 2015 6:07:47 GMT 8
Sorry to say that I did not know Tom, Aka "The Phantom". I did not know that Tom was the "Phantom". After reading his post about finding the dog tags on Corregidor and seeing some of his work on the Heritage Battalion website, I often wondered why he was not on the forum- now I know. He was always there.
Like all the forum members here, I'm glad Tom took the time to share his knowledge and experiences visiting Corregidor. I especially enjoyed his comments about his time on Corregidor with Paul Turley on top of Battery Hearn. His willingness to write about his trips and share in his knowledge helped me better understand the time my grandfather spent on Corregidor. My grandfather and Paul served in the same squad.
Rest In Peace
Todd
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Post by chuckmorford on Nov 14, 2015 18:07:05 GMT 8
I have been away from the site for financial and equipment problems. With new equipment and high speed I decided to re-engage.
I emailed Karl as I was getting his email. I had emailed Tom about 5 days ago with my new email address. When I contacted Karl I asked about Tom and was shocked and saddened to learn of his death as I had not been to the forum yet.
I have been to Corregidor several times and I always made sure Tom was going to be there. I enjoyed his company, his eagle eye and most of all his humor. There is tech to disable cell phones in theaters I cannot believe we don't have tech to disable texting in cars. Laws do not work.
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Post by Karl Welteke on Feb 7, 2016 9:57:36 GMT 8
Flag Raising on the 16th Feb 2015 and Memorial Service for Phantom FYI I will be on the island with a friend on the 15th and 16th Feb 2015 to observe the anniversary of the assault and liberation of Corregidor. We will raise the flag on the Old Flagpole and the replacement pole for the flagpole where the paratroopers raised it on the 16th Feb. 1945. We will also hold a small Memorial Service for Phantom who passed away recently thru a vehicle accident; his spouse and children will be present.  W622 in memory of Phantom, Tom Aring, he always will be a dear friend. He brought and gave me that US Flag and the US Navy Retirement flag. This is on the front porch of my house and my daughter is holding a guide-on for her Girl Scout Troop on her day of her Girl Scout Investiture. |
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