A town of 900 in north-central Iowa doubled in size today to honor one of the 30 Americans who were killed when their helicopter was shot down in Afghanistan earlier this month.
Jon Tumilson had a dream of being a Navy SEAL, even writing about wanting to be a part of the special force when he was a teen growing up in the town of Rockford. Tumilson’s comrade in the Navy, Boe Nankivel, told those at the funeral that Tumilson was one of the highest respected of the SEALs.
He said in 10 years he doesn’t think anyone could match Tumilson’s combination of size, speed and power. Tumilson’s sisters say that their brother believe what he was doing in Afghanistan was making a difference and he didn’t back away from the danger it brought.
By Bob Fisher, KRIB, Mason City
