U.S. and South Korean troops joined family members of 1st Lt. Thomas A. Lombardo this month to rededicate the athletic field at Camp Casey that honors the fallen Korean War hero.

Lombardo, commander of I Company, 3rd Battalion, 38th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Infantry Division, was killed in action on Sept. 24, 1950, during a mission near Ch’ogye, shortly after the North Korean retreat that followed the Pusan Perimeter breakout.

Among the family members attending the ceremony on April 8 at Lombardo Field were the lieutenant’s daughter, Joanne Showman; son, Thomas Lombardo III; and grandnephew, Maj. Gen. Charles Lombardo, the current commander of the 2nd Infantry Division.

The general, a St. Louis native like his great uncle, described the lieutenant as a leader committed to serving on the front lines.

“He could’ve stayed up in a division staff — he fought so hard to get down,” he said in remarks provided Wednesday by division spokesman Sgt. Alexander Knight. “He wanted to be with soldiers, lead from the front, and didn’t want to be in the staff.”

Thomas Lombardo initially held a staff position in the division when the Korean War broke out in June 1950 but volunteered for combat duty. He was killed during an assault on a hilltop position while searching for enemy holdouts.

Lombardo’s leadership legacy extends beyond the battlefield. As captain of the U.S. Military Academy football team in 1944, he led Army to a 9-0 season and a national championship under legendary coach Earl “Red” Blaik. He graduated from West Point in 1945.

Lombardo Field was first dedicated on Nov. 17, 1962. Days later, retired Gen. Douglas MacArthur, who was commanding United Nations forces in Korea, paid tribute in a message to U.S. military leaders in Seoul.

“It is highly appropriate that this gridiron, carved out of ground hallowed by American bloodshed that men might be free, be dedicated to honor the memory of Lt. Thomas A. Lombardo,” MacArthur wrote. “For he brought to the battlefield the fighting spirit and leadership acquired on the football field.”

Maj. Gen. Lombardo assumed command of the 2nd Infantry Division in July 2023. He previously served as an enlisted soldier before commissioning as an armor officer through the ROTC program at Missouri State University in 1993.

“I’m thankful that I get to continue to wear this uniform,” he said in an Army profile. “And when you get selected to become a general, it is truly a privilege.”