Air Force Captain Thomas Gramith, 27, of Eagan, Minnesota, was assigned to the 336th Fighter Squadron out of Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, NC. He died on July 18, 2009 in an F-15E crash near the Ghazni province, Afghanistan. A team of U.S. and coalition forces immediately responded to the crash site, secured it and recovered the Airmen. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star.

Capt. Gramith was born in St. Paul, MN and attended St. Thomas Academy in Mendota Heights. He attended North Dakota State University where he earned a degree in aeronautical engineering. He was also a member of the ROTC program and entered the Air Force in 2005 as a 2nd Lieutenant
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Colonel Clark Wigley, Capt Gramith’s first Professor of Aerospace Studies reflected, “Tom, like so many before him, was an uncommon young man who will certainly be missed. He died doing something he loved and probably would have done it for free knowing how much he looked forward to being an aviator.”

Capt. Gramith is survived by his wife Angie and twin daughters Stella and Eva.