Thomas Roy Grover

Thomas R. Grover in top right.

Historical Overview

​West Windsor landmarks are often named after its historical residents. This includes the Thomas R. Grover Middle School. But who, exactly, was Grover?

Thomas Roy Grover, son of Florence and Leroy Grover, was born on August 22, 1946.[1] He grew up on his family's farm at 348 Village Road East, helping his parents with the harvest and matriculating through the local school system. The summers there were long and busy with all the trappings of farm life.  As a childhood friend recalled, “The air was always scented with the smell of the earth as potatoes were being dug, the smell of tomato vines when the picking was on, or of wheat from the combines.”[2] 

On March 8, 1965, the first wave of U.S. combat troops entered South Vietnam on the other side of the planet.[3] Three years later, on the 4th of May, 1968, Thomas Grover began his active-duty tour there. Grover assigned to the army as a Specialist Class 4. He was deployed to the 3rd Infantry Regiment, 199th Separate Light Infantry Brigade, 2nd Battalion, Company D, in Hau Nghia Province, South Vietnam.[4]  

Less than a year later, Thomas R. Grover was killed in action.[5] The details of his death, for which he was posthumously awarded the Silver Star, among the highest honors a soldier can receive in the US Army, are taken directly from his Silver Star Citation. This citation is reprinted in its entirety below:

Boulder and flag at Thomas' boyhood farm, 2019. Photo by Paul Ligeti.

"The President of the United States of America, authorized by Act of Congress July 9, 1918 (amended by an act of July 25, 1963), takes pride in presenting the Silver Star (Posthumously) to Specialist Fourth Class Thomas Roy Grover (ASN: US-51978915), United States Army, for gallantry in action while engaged in military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force on 2 February 1969, while serving as a member of a night ambush patrol with Company D, 2d Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 199th Infantry Brigade (Separate) (Light), in the Republic of Vietnam. On that date the night ambush patrol came under intense enemy fire from a concealed enemy force. Specialist Grover immediately and unhesitatingly left his relatively safe position and entered an exposed area where most of his comrades were located in order to provide suppressive fire and direct them to safety. Only after his comrades reached a safe area did he seek cover for himself, and while moving to another location he was fatally wounded. His unselfish actions contributed significantly to the defeat of the enemy force. Specialist Fourth Class Grover's valorous actions and devotion to duty, at the cost of his own life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit and the United States Army."[6]

Thomas’s body was recovered and buried at the cemetery behind the Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church.[7] Even at the time of this writing (2024), a rock is placed on his headstone each year, much like the rocks placed on the obelisks in the Mercer County Veterans Memorial to mark a visit by someone paying respects.[8]

Other memorials bear his name as well. Most obvious is the Thomas R. Grover Middle School, opened in 1999 across the street from his boyhood farm.[9] The New Jersey Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Holmdel also displays his name.[10] So, too, does the National Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington, D.C.[11]

And, at the beginning of the gravel driveway to Thomas' boyhood farm, a boulder with a plaque, installed in 2014 commemorates his service. Next to it stands an American Flag flown at half-mast above a Prisoner of War-Missing in Action memorial.[12] They, too, commemorate Thomas R. Grover - West Windsor local, soldier, and legacy.

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Bibliography

1. Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church. (n.d.). Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church graveyard. West Windsor. Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church graveyard gravestones, which often list birth dates, death dates, and ages of those buried there.​
2. “The Wall of Faces.” Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund, January 27, 2020. https://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/20245/THOMAS-R-GROVER/. 
3. “Remembering Vietnam: The Story behind ‘the Wall.’” U.S. Department of Defense. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://www.defense.gov/News/Feature-Stories/story/Article/2979448/remembering-vietnam-the-story-behind-the-wall/. 
4. “Silver Star Citation for Thomas Roy Grover,” n.d. Accessed via the following URL: https://valor.militarytimes.com/hero/104645. General orders:
   Headquarters, II Field Force Vietnam, General Orders dated March 13, 1969.
5. Ibid.
6. Ibid.
7. Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church. (n.d.). Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church graveyard. West Windsor. Dutch Neck Presbyterian Church graveyard gravestones, which often list birth dates, death dates, and ages of those buried there.
8. Personal observations of Paul Ligeti, the author of this article.
9. "New W. Windsor Middle School Awaits Students." The Times. September 6, 1999.
10. “Faces Bio - Thomas Roy Grover.” New Jersey Vietnam Veterans Memorial Foundation. Accessed March 13, 2024. https://njvvmf.org/faces/bio/1463. 
11. Lin, Maya. “National Vietnam Veteran’s Memorial.” Washington, DC 20002: 5 Henry Bacon Dr NW, 1982. Thomas Roy Grover's name is Panel 33W, Line 40.
12. "Grover Memorial: A Bittersweet Veterans Dedication." West Windsor and Plainsboro News. November 21, 2014. Accessed via the following URL: https://www.communitynews.org/news/grover-memorial-a-bittersweet-veterans-dedication/article_daacf1cf-9523-5eac-8270-e061452b6302.html