He was 87 when he died, a veteran of World War II. He served in the Army with the 60th Coast Artillery on Corregidor in the Phillipines, and was a survivor of the Bataan Death March. He was a recipient of the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and Purple Heart, and was a POW in Japanese prison camps for 42 months. He always wished to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery, even though he lived in Texas.

I never knew my father, I was raised by this man, and he was quite remarkable. I loved him dearly.

Leslie Grady, November 2006

THOMPSON, NILES R
SSGT   US ARMY
WORLD WAR II
DATE OF BIRTH: 09/23/1915
DATE OF DEATH: 07/30/2003
BURIED AT: SECTION 67  SITE 2306
ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY