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May Thomas Finally Meet His Dad
Feb. 10, 2000
In May 1993, a National Football League player got on his knees at the Vietnam War Memorial Wall in Washington and, with pencil and paper in hand, did a rubbing. The name that materialized from the marble was: "Air Force Capt. Robert James Thomas."
The young man prayed and cried, then stood up to deliver the Memorial Day keynote address before thousands of veterans in Washington.
He finally got to say goodbye to his dad.
A few months later the all-pro linebacker was named the league's Man of the Year - for remarkable charitable and community achievements.
Capt. Thomas would have been proud of his son.
Now we also must say goodbye to Derrick Thomas.
The Thomases died so young - the father at 28, the son at 33. But they were doing what they wanted to do. Robert Thomas was a fighter pilot; Derrick Thomas was a football warrior.
Maybe they have been reunited.
Derrick was just 5 when Robert flew what was supposed to be his final mission over North Vietnam before coming home to Miami for Christmas. President Nixon had called for stepped-up bombing raids in late 1972, and when a relief B-29 didn't arrive in time, copilot Thomas and his crew took off for Hanoi on Dec. 18. They were struck by two hostile missiles, and the plane fell out of the sky and burned 10 miles north of the city. Three Air Force officers were captured; the rest, including Thomas, were killed. Their bodies weren't returned to the United States until six years later.
Robert Thomas died in an operation called "Linebacker II." Derrick Thomas became a linebacker, too.
On an important series late in his first game as a freshman at Alabama, Thomas was charged with pass interference to allow the drive to continue. On the next play he was charged with pass interference again. On the following play, Thomas made a game-saving deflection of a long pass. Coach Ray Perkins was asked why such an inexperienced player (and linebacker against wide receiver) was trusted in that situation. "Derrick Thomas was the best player on the field. He takes risks, but he makes things happen."
Thomas never stopped taking risks and always made things happen.
Eventually, the outside linebacker would become a nine-time Pro Bowler, the Kansas City Chiefs' all-time leader in sacks and fumble recoveries and the Broncos' - and John Elway's - chief nemesis. From 1989-99, in more than 20 Broncos-Chiefs games, Thomas sacked the Broncos quarterback, clawed at the Broncos offensive linemen, tackled the Broncos running backs and played havoc with the Broncos tight ends.
Try as he may, Thomas couldn't make it to the Big Game. The worst loss of his career, Thomas said last year, was to the Broncos in the playoffs in Kansas City in 1997. A season later, as the Chiefs were beaten at home by the Broncos, Thomas drew three penalties of frustration after being goaded by tight end Shannon Sharpe. Thomas was suspended for one game.
But he wasn't one of the bad guys in sports we've been hearing about. Thomas started a foundation for kids and spent the off-season reading books to students. He was beloved in Kansas City, respected throughout the country.
Thomas took one risk, though, that he shouldn't. On Jan. 23 - a month and five days past the 27th anniversary of his father's death - he was weaving in and out of traffic at 70 mph on an icy road leading to the Kansas City airport. The car Thomas was driving overturned; a passenger was killed, and he was paralyzed from the chest down.
Thomas was flown to Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, and doctors fused his spine. There were reports that he was beginning to feel sensations in his lower body and that his spirits were higher. There was hope for Thomas.
He suddenly died Tuesday of cardiorespiratory arrest, hospital officials said.
Thomas' heart was broken when he was a boy, and it was broken again when he was a man.
He will be missed - even by the rowdy Broncos fans who loved him by hating him.
Unfortunately, the son didn't get one piece of advice from his dad. Robert Thomas was wearing his safety belt when he crashed; Derrick Thomas wasn't.
Everyone should remember Robert and Derrick Thomas and remember to buckle up.
from denver post
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