Kyle O. Thompson

Kyle Thompson AUSTIN – Kyle Thompson, a long-time Texas journalist and decorated World War II veteran who spent nearly four years in Japanese prison camps, died Friday night at St. David’s Hospital in Austin following complications from surgery. He was 81. Thompson, a resident of Austin, was state capitol bureau chief for United Press International throughout the 1960’s, serving as the news agency’s senior government and political correspondent in Texas. He was later editorial director at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram before retiring in 1987. Thompson served as advisor and press secretary for several Texas political figures, including former Democratic Gov. John Connally and former Republican Sen. John Tower. He was a campaign aide to current Gov. Rick Perry during Perry’s successful race for state agriculture commissioner in 1990. Thompson was among nearly 1, 000 American soldiers, sailors and marines, later known as “the Lost Battalion,” ordered to construct the “Death Railway” in the Burmese jungles. After writing his book following retirement, Thompson gained prominence as an authority on POWs, speaking before student groups and appearing in documentaries. Thompson was named as Midwestern State University’s Outstanding Alumnus in 2000 and was awarded the national Medal of Honor from the Daughters of the American Revolution in 2002. He received 11 medals for his military service, including the Purple Heart, the Ex-Prisoner of War Medal, and the Presidential Unit Citation with two oak leaf clusters. He and his wife, Vivian were long-time members of the Hyde Park Baptist Church in Austin. In 2003, he was honored for a half-century of service as a counselor in the Royal Ambassadors, a Baptist mission program for boys. Funeral services will be held at 10:00am Tuesday, March 2, 2004 at Hyde Park Baptist Church with Dr. J. Kie Bowman and Reverend Joe T. Carrell officiating. Interment with military honors will follow at the Texas State Cemetery. Honorary pallbearers will be past and present members of The Royal Ambassadors and members of the Lost Battalion Association. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be sent to the Texas Military Forces Museum. Survivors include his wife, Vivian Thompson, of Austin; three daughters, Linda Thompson Montgomery of Centreville, (CQ) Va.; Kay Thompson of Corpus Christi, and Janis Thompson of Round Rock; two brothers, James Thompson of Colorado Springs, Colo., and George Ward Thompson of Fort Worth; two sisters, Vera Carey of Las Vegas, Nev., and Nita Smith of Gig Harbor, Wash.; two grandchildren, Mandy Briggs of Houston and Colin Montgomery of Moscow, Idaho; and two great-grandchildren, Cassie Michelle Briggs and Garrett Blake Briggs, both of Houston. Arrangements by Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home, 3125 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin, TX 78705 (512) 452-8811. You may view memorials online at www.wcfish.com