The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. In verdant pastures he gives me repose; beside restful waters he leads me; he refreshes my soul. He guides me in right paths for his name’s sake. Even though I walk in a dark valley I fear no evil; for you are at my side with your rod and your staff that give me courage. You spread the table before me in the sight of my foes; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Only goodness and kindness follow me all the days of my life; and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for years to come.                --Psalm 23

Sgt. Thomas Houser, 22, of Council Bluffs, Iowa carried that verse from the Bible in his helmet. He was a 2000 graduate of St. Albert’s Catholic School.  His mother, Mary Ellen Ward, or M.E. as she is called, said her son had a lot of faith. M.E. said her son believed strongly in what the troops were doing in Iraq. “He said pray for these people,” she remembers. “They have nothing and know nothing. He told me it was essential that we were there and for the Iraqis to know that they were going to have freedom. These people are now smiling.”

Tom joined the Marines right after he graduated from high school. Military service ran in the family. His older brother, Joe Houser, is also a Marine. Tom was assigned to 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force, based out of Camp Lejeune, N.C. He was killed by enemy action in Al Anbar province, Iraq.  According to M.E., when Tom was killed, his unit was surrounding a farmhouse with insurgents inside. An insurgent came out to have a cigarette. The first team took him out and Tom’s team stormed the house. He volunteered to go first. Tom secured the first room, but when Tom went to the second room he was hit under his left arm. Tom died from his injury. Two others were badly injured. This was Tom’s second tour in Iraq.

Tom was very close to his brother Joe, who is stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C. He also served in Iraq.  “Tom was a very kind guy,” said M.E. “He was the person who got everyone together. In Iraq, on Christmas Day, he organized a flag football game and in his own way he made a difference. I couldn’t be more proud of him. Tom loved being in the Marines. It takes a village to raise a child, but it takes a nation to support the troops.” 

M.E. said no one wants war, but we must keep our nation safe – especially after the September 11th attacks. “No matter what your views are on this war – it is preferable to fight terrorists on foreign soil than in our own city streets. I totally believe in that.”

• The service outside the school centered on the dedication of a flagpole in the name of one of the school's own heroes. Marine Sgt. Thomas E. Houser, 22, died in January while serving in Iraq. He was a 2000 St. Albert graduate. Several of the attendees wore green T-shirts in Houser's memory, reading "He's got your back" and "Our Hero."
  
  Houser's mother, M.E. Ward, selected her son's alma mater as the location for the flagpole dedication. "We have to remember this, because if we don't, it will just be another story," she told the crowd of teachers, students and alumni. Ward said that among the things she has learned in the past four years is that Americans will pull together and help one another when needed. Omaha World-Herald, 9/12/2005

• Tom Houser had an ever-present sense of humor, loved adventure and enjoyed his job - serving in the Marines - his brother told the crowd.
  
  "Tom has taught us not just to sip life from a cup," Joe Houser said. "He taught us to drink straight from the ocean of life."
  
  After the funeral, Houser's family led a long line of cars the four miles to St. Joseph Catholic Cemetery. They passed a man standing on the sidewalk holding a squirming toddler, a tiny U.S. flag and a small sign, "Thank You." They passed an older man holding a salute. And they passed nearly 100 other Council Bluffs residents braving the cold to pay tribute.
  
  "He only had a short time in this world to show his commitment, and he showed it to his family and to the Marines," said the Rev. Phil Hobt, a priest who taught Houser when he was a student at St. Albert Catholic High School in Council Bluffs.
  
  "He believed in his mission in Iraq, and yet he knew the dangers," Hobt said. Des Moines Register, 1/13/2005