Lindstrom Funeral Home

Sunday, March 11, 2018. at St. Marys Hospital in Rochester, Minn. Memorial services will be 11 a.m., Monday, May 14th at St. Matthew’s Lutheran Church, Granger, Minnesota. Friends may call from 4-7 p.m. on Sunday at the Lindstrom Funeral Home in Harmony and from 10 am until service time at the church.  Inurnment will be 1 p.m. at the Minnesota State Veterans Cemetery in Preston, Minnesota.Thomas was born on May 14, 1946, in Lanesboro, Minn., to Francis “Fuzz” and Alberta (Lange) Fishbaugher.  He grew up in rural Harmony, Minn., on the family farm and graduated with honors from Harmony High School in May 1964.  After graduating high school, Tom attended Winona State College in Winona, Minn., graduating in May of 1968 with a bachelor’s degree (with honors) in bio-chemistry.On December 23, 1968, Thomas married Barbara Lee Matson at Greenfield Lutheran Church in Harmony, Minn.  Shortly after their marriage, Tom and Barb acquired the farmland and home adjacent to Tom’s parent’s farmland and homestead and raised their family there.Thomas was drafted into the United States Army and served in the Vietnam War from September 1968 until July 1970.  He earned the ranking of Staff Sergeant (E-6), was a member of the First Air Cavalry Division and saw heavy combat while serving in the infantry as a machine gunner.  Tom was a sharpshooter while in the Army, becoming an expert with many weapons, including the M-14, M-16 and the M-60.Thomas was a highly decorated veteran and was honorably discharged in 1970, having received a Bronze Star, Purple Heart, 2 Air Medals (for completion of 60-or-more Combat Assaults), Army Commendation Medal, National Defense Medal, Vietnam Cross of Gallantry, Vietnam Campaign Medal, 3 Presidential Citations, and a Decoration of Valor. His photograph/image as a member of the Army can be seen in or on the covers of many Vietnam War related books, magazines and publications and even can still be seen in today’s social media and video g... (Fillmore County Journal)