Sgt. Dustin Thorson, Hero's Actions Stun Tinker Air Force Base

Iraq War Hero's Actions Stun Tinker Air Force Base, Attorney
Augie Frost


The Oklahoman (Oklahoma)

Feb 28, 2008

February 27, 2008 - Oklahoma - Dustin Thorson was a decorated war veteran and community leader the day he killed his two children and turned the gun on himself at his home on Tinker Air Force Base.

The U.S. Army honored Thorson in 2006 with the Joint Commendation Medal for aiding coalition forces in capturing the No. 10 most wanted terrorist in Iraq, according to a Nov. 22, 2006, issue of Tinker Take Off, the base newspaper.

His military career, status in the community and a lot of other things ended Monday with him lying dead in the same bedroom as his two children, ages 9 and 4.

All had suffered gunshot wounds to their heads.

The children had also been shot in the chest and died instantly, officials said.

"Am I surprised? Absolutely,” said Thorson's attorney, Matthew Tate Wise. "His thing is, he made it over and over again that he loved his kids. He's done all kinds of amazing things for the military, so that makes it even more unbelievable.”

Identified in the newspaper as an Air Force technical sergeant, Thorson's computer skills helped find the wanted terrorist in Iraq by hacking into computers, cell phones and other electronic devices.

He was assigned to the 752nd Communications Squadron, but was sent to Iraq and was embedded with the U.S. Army's 172nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division operating out of Baghdad, the newspaper said.

He initially shipped to Iraq to fix computers and printers, but was reassigned as a communications specialist to an Army warfare group because of his ability to hack into enemy communication devices, the newspaper said.

His transition from an Air Force technical guru into an embedded assignment with the Army led to him being nicknamed "Sponge Bob,” for his ability to soak up knowledge from his new comrades in the Army, the newspaper said.

Thorson helped track the terrorist by tracing a cell phone.
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