North Fort Myers’ ‘Vietnam Tom’ remembered
It would have been nice if Vietnam veteran Tom Harris had been able to spend Memorial Day weekend with his friends and family at a cookout or remembering, at one of the myriad of services throughout the area, those with whom he served.
Sadly, “Vietnam Tom,” who reportedly saw his life spiral downward after his wife died, was found dead last Friday in the area of Old Bridge Road and Bayline Drive in North Fort Myers.
His body had apparently been there for several days.
But, unlike some homeless people whose passing goes unmarked, neighbors who befriended and tried to help him want Harris to be remembered as a veteran.
The Lee County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call late Friday afternoon from two neighbors, Vernon McPherson and Susan Garcia, who found Harris’s body in a ditch, a report states.
The death investigation was assigned to the Sheriff’s Office’s Major Crime Unit and the cause has been ruled of “natural causes” officials said Monday, adding there were no signs of foul play.
Garcia told investigators that Harris’s health had been deteriorating in recent weeks, as he had been having trouble getting out of his tent or on his feet on his own, the report states.
A friend of Harris, David Hunt, who has lived in the area for 17 years, said Tom had a good life for a long time, living in a house in the neighborhood with a wife and sailboat. He had dreamt of one day going back to Vietnam.
When Harris’s wife died, though, everything fell apart.
“Once she died, everything went downhill. He gave up on life and stopped seeking out the materialistic things. He rode his bike, lived in the woods,” Hunt said. “He was certainly very proud to be a Vietnam veteran.”
Hunt said Harris, known to those in the area as “Vietnam Tom,” had gotten lots of support from the neighbors.
One reportedly allowed Harris to use her address to receive mail and helped him with his food stamps online and he was generally liked by his neighbors.
“Tom was a harmless guy. Did he live in the woods and ride a bike and stay in some of the abandoned houses? Yes,” Hunt said. “Did he hurt anyone? No. And was he proud to be an American veteran? Absolutely. It’s a sad way for a veteran to die on Memorial Day. I hope they at least leave a cross where he died with an American flag.”