Rest in peace to the fallen and my thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and family. It sounds like Tom Boyle definitely did his time as a soldier, policeman, and security contractor.
No word on what company he worked for, but I would guess it would be one of the ones involved with police training or advising in Kandahar, Afghanistan. –Matt
Barrington Hills man killed in Afghanistan
By Eric Peterson
6/22/2012
A Barrington Hills veteran of both the Chicago Police Department and Vietnam War is being remembered for his lifelong courage and heroism after being killed Tuesday in a firefight in Afghanistan.
Tom Boyle, 62, had left the comforts of a Barrington Hills retirement far behind to serve as a contracted law enforcement professional in Afghanistan, where he was providing security and training Afghanis to do the same.
He previously had served in the same capacity during two tours each in Kosovo and Iraq, Boyle’s friend and former employer Steve Kirby said.
Kirby attributed Boyle’s calling to this type of work to his strong moral convictions.
“Tom didn’t need to do this,” Kirby said. “He was very financially secure.”
While a Chicago police officer, Boyle was personally responsible for capturing brothers Tyrone and Larry Strickland, who were later convicted of murdering Wheeling Police Officer Kenneth Dawson in November 1985. Boyle also recovered the weapon used in Dawson’s fatal shooting.
“Thomas Boyle will always have a special place in the Wheeling Police Department,” Wheeling Police Chief William Benson said Thursday. “He is truly, truly a hero. It’s a tragic story.”
Boyle was born in 1949, grew up in Chicago and joined the Marine Corps just out of high school, Kirby said. He served in Vietnam from 1968 to 1969 and earned the Cross of Gallantry.
Boyle then joined the Chicago Police Department in 1970 and served for 30 years before retiring.
Upon his retirement, he went to work for Kirby’s private detective agency in Elmhurst. The safety of those he served with, particularly new or younger people, was especially important to him, Kirby said.
“Tom was a great mentor for us,” he added.