Army Staff Sgt. Travis M. Tompkins

Remember Our Heroes

Army Staff Sgt. Travis M. Tompkins, 31, of Lawton, Okla.

SSgt Tompkins was assigned to Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division, Fort Polk, La.; died March 16, 2011 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained on March 15 when enemy forces attacked his unit with a rocket propelled grenade.

Travis Tompkins, who was promoted posthumously to staff sergeant, was a military police officer with the Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division.

Tompkins' awards and decorations included the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart, the NATO Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal and the Army Commendation Medal, among many more, according to the Department of Defense.

He was carrying on a tradition of service in his family that dates back to World War I.

"His mother Vickie said Saturday that the main thing she wanted people who never met him to know is what a great son he was to her and what a wonderful husband he was to his wife, Candy, and their children."

Staff Sgt. Tompkins died Wednesday, March 16, 2011, in Logar Province, Afghanistan.

Burial with full military honors will be in the Fort Sill National Cemetery, Elgin.

He was born Nov. 26, 1979, at Fort Sill, to Leland and Vickie Tompkins. He graduated from MacArthur High School in 1999 and was very active in the Boy Scouts.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army in January of 2000. He married Candice Brown on March 1, 2001, at Fort Carson, Colo..

He was currently serving as a military policeman with the Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division in Afghanistan.

His awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal (2OLC), Army Good Conduct Medal (3rd Award), National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Afghanistan Campaign Medal w/Bronze Star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Noncommissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, NATO Medal and the Combat Action Badge.

Travis was a loving husband, father and son.

Survivors include his wife, Candice, and two children: Madison and Gianna, of the home; his parents: Leland and Vickie Tompkins, of Lawton; a sister, Jenny Meek and her husband, Troy, of Fletcher; niece and nephew, Megan Meek and Dillon Meek; and his mother and father-in-law, Wendy and Tim Brown, of Lawton.

Army Staff Sgt. Travis M. Tompkins was killed in action on 3/16/11.