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Special Forces Association
Indiana Chapter 500
![U.S. Army Special Forces Groups [2.0].pn](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/f0c718_a73d028fa5be47fbb4afb8f010449763~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_265,h_128,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/U_S_%20Army%20Special%20Forces%20Groups%20%5B2_0%5D_pn.png)
In Memoriam
Hail and Farewell
Through many countries and over many seas
I have come, Brother, to these melancholy rites,
to show this final honor to the dead,
and speak (to what purpose?) to your silent ashes,
since now fate takes you, even you, from me.
Oh, Brother, ripped away from me so cruelly,
now at least take these last offerings, blessed
by the tradition of our parents, gifts to the dead.
Accept, by custom, what a brother’s tears drown,
and, for eternity, Brother, ‘Hail and Farewell’.
-Gaius Valerius Catullus
Dr. Thomas Joe "Tom" Hildebrand,
MSG (Ret), US Army Special Forces
We lost Tom to natural causes on August 27, 2021. Tom grew up on a farm in Seymour, Indiana with his three siblings, After graduating from Seymour High School in 1977, Tom joined the US Army Special Forces. Tom trained to be a Special Forces Medic and paramedic and was also a weapons expert, ski instructor, Army Ranger and much more. The Army wanted him to go to West Point, but Special Forces was where Tom wanted to be. He traveled the world on different missions and served as a Team SGT for a detachment. Tom was stationed in Lebanon and Somalia, and he helped Kurdish refugees escape danger over mountainous territory during Desert Storm in Iraq and even ran a vital field hospital.
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Dr. Thomas Joe "Tom" Hildebrand,
MSG (Ret), US Army Special Forces
We lost Tom to natural causes on August 27, 2021. Tom grew up on a farm in Seymour, Indiana with his three siblings, After graduating from Seymour High School in 1977, Tom joined the US Army Special Forces. Tom trained to be a Special Forces Medic and paramedic and was also a weapons expert, ski instructor, Army Ranger and much more. The Army wanted him to go to West Point, but Special Forces was where Tom wanted to be. He traveled the world on different missions and served as a Team SGT for a detachment. Tom was stationed in Lebanon and Somalia, and he helped Kurdish refugees escape danger over mountainous territory during Desert Storm in Iraq and even ran a vital field hospital.
Zane Koester
Chief Warrant Officer 3 (Ret), US Army Special Forces
Zane fell ill with COVID-19 and passed away on December 31st, 2020. Chief Z was a very popular member of the chapter, and joined the Regiment in 1968. He deployed many times and served in Afghanistan in 2001 with the 19th SFG(A). He retired from the army in 2005 and also retired from the US Postal Service. He is greatly missed.
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