Thomas Noonan

Born in 1919, Thomas Noonan (or Bud as his friends called him), grew up in the time of the Great Depression. As it was a time of extreme poverty, at age 12 he began working at his family owned hamburger wagon "Skippy's", where they sold hamburgers and ice cream for five cents each. The wagon was right on the Pewaukee Lake, which made the hot summer days seem cool and relaxing.

At age thirteen, Bud learned to drive so that he could make the deliveries for his parents' business, although it was illegal. He was always willing to do anything for his family. At age sixteen he attended Wauwatosa High school, still working for his parents, Bud managed to become a football legend.

World War II

After graduating high school he entered the marine corps and went off to war. He fought against the Japanese for 4 years in the jungles of the South Pacific. He was a communications man for the Marines. Bud was involved in some amphibious invasions of islands during the island hopping campaign. During his time on Okinawa, the Kamikazes attacked their biggest carrier. In search of an ally, Bud attempted to flag down a plane that flew overhead. A short time later the plane dropped a 500 pound bomb twenty feet from him. Quickly pulling in one of his marine troop buddies, they hid safely in a tomb until the planes had passed and allies had come. He fought vigorously in the war for four years. To me he was brave.

After the war Bud returned to Wauwatosa, Wisconsin where he married Edy Klinker, his high school sweet heart. They moved into a two story, one bedroom home in Wauwatosa where they raised their four children. They would spend the rest of their lives in that house watching their children and grandchildren grow.

At age 84 my grandmother, Edy, died suddenly. Both shocked and devastated by this untimely death our family was in great mourning over the loss of my much loved grandmother. However none of our suffering could amount to the great pain my grandfather, Bud, felt. He had lost the person he cared more about then anyone or anything else in the entire world. Though he was already mentally and physically sick, Bud managed to stick it out for a whole year to help his family through the loss of their mother/grandmother/sister. Although he felt much pain himself he still always found a way to make all of us feel better. He had an endless amount of love in his heart. On April 10th, 2006 he suffered a stage five heart attack, the worst his doctor had ever encountered. After suffering the extreme heart attack, he had still managed to get dressed, get up and call an ambulance by himself. That was just like him though, a fighter till the very end. He managed to survive a painful five days after that, but finally losing his battle on April 15, 2006, exactly a year after my grandmother's death. He remained the same brave, courageous, strong person till the end.

Like a true solider, Thomas "Bud" Noonan managed to always demonstrate courage, strength and bravery throughout his entire life.

Thomas Noonan is a hero.