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PERRY, Box Elder County — James Thomas never heard much from his brother Cameron about the work of an Army Ranger before. But in the last few days, he's heard a lot from those who worked with him about a man who was, it seems, born to lead.
"The way (his fellow Rangers) described him was he would literally carry them on his back if he had to," Thomas said Saturday.
Army Ranger Sgt. Cameron Thomas, was one of two U.S. soldiers killed Wednesday in a firefight with ISIS combatants in Afghanistan. Since then, his elder brother James, who lives in Perry, has had a lot of supportive phone calls from family and friends, but it's been the conversations with those outside the family circle that have been the hardest.
"The people around him, whether it was outside of work or when they were dropping him into a combat zone, they wanted to be around him," James Thomas said. "You learn new things, and the impact he had on people's lives.
"My brother was a loyal guy. He was a good friend. He lit up a room."
Their father, Andre Thomas, 58, told the Dayton Daily News on Friday that his son Cameron knew from an early age that he wanted to be a soldier.
"It's all he lived and breathed," he said.
The elder Thomas, an Air Force veteran, grew up in Payson but currently resides in Virginia. Andre Thomas said he and his son had discussed the risks of an armed services career, and said he harbored no ill will over the incident.
“He knew what he was facing,” the father said. “This happens. As far as us, we have no animosity or anything against anyone. If it happened, it happened and war is awful. I hate it and I wish we didn’t have it.”
According to the U.S. Department of Defense, Cameron Thomas was one of about 90 U.S. and Afghan soldiers who were inserted by helicopter into the Mohmand Valley (near the location where a Massive Area Blast bomb was dropped earlier this month) about 10:30 p.m. local time on April 26. Thomas and fellow Ranger, Sgt. Joshua Rodgers, were mortally wounded early in what was to become "an intense, three-hour firefight." The operation was targeting an ISIS leader, Abdul Hasib, who is believed to have been killed in the raid.
Navy Capt. Jeff Davis, the Pentagon's director of press operations said in a Department of Defense release that there is a chance the two Rangers may have been the victims of friendly fire and U.S. Forces Afghanistan is investigating the incident.
U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis issued a statement Saturday acknowledging the service and sacrifice of Thomas and Rodgers.
"The families and fellow Rangers of Sgt. Joshua 'Josh' Rodgers and Sgt. Cameron Thomas have my respect and sympathies," Mattis said. "They carried out their operation against (the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria-Khorasan) in Afghanistan before making the ultimate sacrifice to defend our nation and our freedoms.
"Our nation owes them an irredeemable debt, and we give our deepest condolences to their families."
James Thomas urged those who did not know his brother to remember the people who serve in the armed forces are truly heroes.
"Whether you agree with what’s going on or not, don’t forget these guys truly believe they’re making a difference in our world for us," Thomas said. "My brother truly, truly believed that he was making a difference."
Contributing: Sean Moody
Art Raymond is a reporter for KSL.com and The Deseret News. Contact him at araymond@deseretnews.com.
