Vietnam vet dies 'making a difference' in Afghanistan

Vietnam vet dies 'making a difference' in Afghanistan

Tom Boyle, right, shown in an undated photograph (Handout )

June 21, 2012
By Jim Jaworski
Tribune reporter

Friends recall that Tom Boyle faced many deadly situations on the streets of Chicago during more than 30 years as a police officer. More than a decade after retirement, at age 62, he was training police in war-torn Afghanistan how best to keep the peace when he died this week.

Eager to make another part of the world safer, Boyle took a job as a security contractor, according to his wife, Pauline Boyle. He trained police in Kosovo, Iraq and Afghanistan, she said.

Pauline Boyle was notified by his company and a military chaplain on Monday of her husband’s death in Afghanistan that day.

Described as a serious man with a sarcastic sense of humor, Boyle is being remembered as someone who never stopped trying to assist others — whether as a police officer, Marine or private security contractor.

“He wanted to see if he could help people,” said Steve Kirby, who sometimes employed Boyle as a private investigator at his Elmhurst company. “That’s just the kind of person he was. He’s been spending his whole life helping people.”

Boyle was born in 1949 and grew up on the Northwest side of Chicago, according to his wife of 35 years. He served two tours in Vietnam, earning multiple awards including the Cross of Gallantry.
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