Bill Text: SC H4333 | 2017-2018 | 122nd General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Francis David Thompson
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 77-43)
Status: (Passed) 2017-05-11 - Introduced and adopted [H4333 Detail]
Download: South_Carolina-2017-H4333-Introduced.html
A HOUSE RESOLUTION
TO RECOGNIZE AND HONOR FRANCIS DAVID THOMPSON, A VETERAN OF THE KOREAN WAR, FOR DECADES OF SIGNIFICANT AND EXTENSIVE SERVICE TO THE PALMETTO STATE AND THE MAULDIN COMMUNITY.
Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives are pleased to commend those who, like Francis David Thompson, serve the citizens of our great State so selflessly, making such noteworthy contributions; and
Whereas, born in Piedmont in 1928, he is one of two sons of Ruth Marcelle Lister Thompson and Luther Gomer Thompson and was reared on Piedmont Mill Village, then known as Beattie Mill; and
Whereas, after high school graduation in 1947, he attended Brevard Junior College for two years, and just one year before being drafted into the United States Army, he entered Clemson College in 1949, being enrolled in ROTC, while the school was still all military; and
Whereas, Mr. Thompson took basic training at Fort Jackson and then was stationed at Fort Bliss in Texas for ten months to study 90 mm anti-aircraft and radar for sighting and aiming. While there, he taught junior department boys at El Paso First Baptist Church; and
Whereas, from Fort Bliss, he deployed to Kojedo, Korea, as a PFC with the 453rd Engineers from Spokane, Washington, but never saw combat in his thirteen-month tour. After military service, he returned to Clemson but interrupted his studies to marry his beloved Nell Adams at Mauldin Baptist Church in August 1954; and
Whereas, in 1955, Mr. Thompson helped to wire the house he built in the Mauldin community where he and Nell have lived ever since. There they had three children: David Adams Thompson; Phillip Earl Thompson, who died in infancy; and Terry Luther Thompson. Their fine children have blessed them with the love of two grandchildren, Joshua Andrew Thompson and Kristen Elisabeth Thompson; and
Whereas, Mr. Thompson is a charter member of Empire Chapter #251, of Order of Eastern Star in Mauldin, and has been a member for over sixty years; and
Whereas, he also is a Master Mason, a member of Empire Lodge #213, Ancient Free Masons, which is a fraternity for honesty, morality, and good will to the general public; and
Whereas, he taught fifth-grade boys Sunday school at Mauldin First Baptist Church for over sixty years, using vivid, concrete examples to relate Bible stories and was essential to the ministry of Greenville Baptist Association's Camp Marietta for RA boys and GA girls; and
Whereas, he was a carpenter for the construction of Greater New Hope Baptist Church when this black congregation needed help to build a sanctuary after the building being used was no longer available. The communities of both races built the new church; and
Whereas, Mr. Thompson was a member of the Gideons International for eight years at the Mauldin Camp, and for six years he worked locally on Habitat for Humanity housing. He was a disaster-relief volunteer for the Red Cross for a decade, serving in sixteen major disasters, including hurricanes, tornados, flooding, and fires; and
Whereas, a member of the Korean War Veterans Association for twelve years, he served two years as its president and attended eight Korean War Veterans reunions held annually, hosting the reunion in 2005 in Greenville. In 2010, he returned to Korea accompanied by his two sons at the invitation of the Korean government. An active member in the Disabled American Veterans, he went on the Honor Flight to Washington, D. C., in April 2016; and
Whereas, the South Carolina House of Representatives values the years of devoted and caring service that Francis David Thompson has given to strengthen those in his own community and beyond by living out his faith in so many practical ways. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, recognize and honor Francis David Thompson, a veteran of the Korean War, for decades of significant and extensive service to the Palmetto State and the Mauldin community.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Francis David Thompson.
