RELATED: For Kettering Army Ranger, service was ‘all he lived and breathed’
Megan Wells, who helped organize the event, said she and Thomas had been friends since she they were in high school. Thomas, a 2012 Kettering Fairmont High School graduate, also took classes at Centerville High School, where Wells attended.
Wells said an event where friends could celebrate Thomas’ life would have been what he wanted, with friends from all over the Dayton area.
“Every one knows they’re connected to him in a special way, that’s why I think that’s why he wants to be celebrated so much by everyone,” she said.
RELATED: Funeral services set for fallen Army Ranger Sgt. Cameron Thomas
Whenever Wells came home from deployment, he would have gatherings with friends, which Wells said her favorite trait of Thomas.
“This event goes to show that even when he’s not here with us, he continues to bring people together,” Wells said. “That’s what’s so awesome and speaks volumes about the person that he is.”
RELATED: Pentagon: Kettering soldier may have been killed by friendly fire
Thomas was on the school’s swim team and practiced mixed martial arts in preparation for his future military career, his family said.
It was through his military career that he met Sgt. Matthew Summers, who said the two forged a “brotherhood you can’t describe” during ranger selection.
“We hung out every single day for three years, we shared everything,” he said.
Summers said Thomas was an “optimistic person” who took on any challenge presented to him.
“There was nothing that Cameron couldn’t do,” Summers said. “If Cameron said he was going to do it, he was going to do it better than everybody else and he was going to accomplish that goal. Now we every one of us have to live in reflection of that.”
An investigation is underway to determine whether Thomas, an anti-armor specialist, and Sgt. Joshua P. Rodgers, 22, of Bloomington, Ill., were killed by friendly fire. Both soldiers were assigned to Company D, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Fort Benning, Ga.
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Summers said he’s from the same town as Rodgers and attended his funeral, just a day before Thomas’ life celebration.
A candlelight vigil was held in Thomas’ memory May 3.
Funeral services for Thomas been scheduled for May 12 and 13 in Culpeper, Va.
The viewing is scheduled for 6-9 p.m. May 12 at 420 Willow Lawn Drive, Culpeper. His funeral will be held May 13 at 10 a.m. at Salem Volunteer Fire & Rescue, 13428 Scotts Mill Road.
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