R.I.P. Lance Cpl. Thomas E. Rivers Jr.

Marine Lance Cpl. Thomas E. Rivers Jr.
Died April 28, 2010 serving during Operation Enduring Freedom

22, of Birmingham, Ala.; assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marines, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, Camp Lejeune, N.C.; died April 28 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, Afghanistan.

(The following was taken from blog.al.com of May 5, 2010) The body of a U.S. Marine from Hoover who was killed April 28 by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan was returned to Birmingham this afternoon as his family prepares for his Friday burial.

Lance Cpl. Thomas Rivers, 22, died while supporting combat operations in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. He was assigned to 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, II Marine Expeditionary Force, out of Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

Rivers realized his lifelong goal of entering the U.S. Marine Corps after graduating from Briarwood Christian School in 2007. This was his second tour in the Middle East.

"While some kids wondered whether to go to college or where they would go, Thomas was set on the right path for him," said Fred Yancey, Briarwood's dean of students. "He knew he wanted to be a Marine. He was so excited about it."

Visitation for Rivers, the son of Dr. Tom and Charon Rivers, will be Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Ridout's Southern Heritage Funeral Home in Pelham. His funeral is at 11 a.m. Friday at Briarwood Presbyterian Church near Vestavia Hills.

He is to be buried Friday afternoon at the Alabama National Cemetery in Montevallo. Quincy Whitehead, the cemetery director, said Rivers will be the first soldier killed in action to be buried there.