The Life of Tom Kennedy, Gorloks and the Meaning of Memorial Day

As a veteran, working in the veteran non-profit space for nearly a decade, and now working at a 100% veteran-owned and operated investment bank called Drexel Hamilton , I have thought about the meaning of Memorial Day often during my post-military life.

The most obvious meaning is “to remember” – I mean “memory” is right in the word, with the Latin root memorialis, “belonging to memory.” But perhaps the day belongs to something else.

To me, and many of us at Drexel Hamilton, Memorial Day means Major Thomas “TK” Kennedy.

Tom became a surrogate brother to me after my brother Jimmy was killed on 9/11, when we were stationed at Fort Sill, Oklahoma together. Eleven years later, Tom would be killed by an ambush in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, on August 8th, 2012, leaving behind a wife and twins (a daughter and a son).

Several of us at Drexel Hamilton were gutted, and still are, but we try to continue to keep his memory alive through stories.?

Our Managing Director, Anthony Felice, was friends with, and played hockey with Tom at West Point, and frequently tells the story about, how one time, in March, a bunch of classmates were bragging about their graduate schools in the NCAA Basketball Tournament – shouting out Stanford, Duke – and out of nowhere, Tom shouts out his Army-sanctioned online school, “Don’t forget Websters. Go Gorloks !” (Tom would go on to get his master’s from Columbia. He'd want me to note that).

Another Drexel employee, Army veteran, and friend of Tom’s, is Ryan Lowry , where the two of them bonded over their strong-willed, big-hearted Mothers, Guinness and Ryan’s superior dance moves. Ryan went to Manhattan College with my brother Jimmy before transferring to West Point (for the social scene), and a couple of years ago, sent me this photo of my brother Jimmy and Tom together.

I never knew they met.

This picture was a gift, and had me thinking to not just remember people like Tom, but to try to live like them. For those we honor on Memorial Day, the one guaranteed trait they all shared was selflessness. Sacrifice. Giving their lives for others.

What can we give?

Here at Drexel Hamilton, we try to give back as much as we can. When Tom’s son’s youth hockey team were selling raffle tickets, we were competing with Tom’s Don Bosco Prep friends to buy up the full allotment. Just this month, a colleague and I attended the Catch A Lift Fund gala, an organization that enables the rehabilitation of veterans through physical fitness, inspired by Army Cpl. Chris Coffland who gave his life in Afghanistan on November 13th, 2009. In addition to playing a bad round of golf with Tee It Up for the Troops , we’ve also supported the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation , who provide college scholarships to military children who have lost a parent in the line of duty, like Tom’s twins.

I was recently telling TK stories to our latest veteran hire, James Grady .

James is an Army veteran with 8 combat tours to Iraq and Afghanistan, and is now working on our Debt Capital Markets team. When I asked James about any Soldiers he lost in the wars, he initially said he would have to get back to me because it was too long of a list, but he smiled thinking about one particular Soldier that he served with.

Army Specialist Ryan Long.

James served with Ryan in the 3rd Ranger Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. During the invasion of Iraq in 2003, Ryan made the ultimate sacrifice while trying to assist a pregnant Iraqi woman when he was hit by a vehicle-borne IED on April 3rd, 2003. James told me stories about how Ryan was kind and generous, even to the newest of Rangers. I learned that Ryan lived life to the fullest. He mentored. He gave back. He gave his all. Just like Tom.

So, what’s the meaning of Memorial Day?

Yes, it’s about remembering, but perhaps the day also belongs to something else.

To selflessness.

To sacrifice.

To giving back.??

#memorialday #veterans #Gorloks