Paratrooper From Gaithersburg Is Buried

Army Specialist Called Role Model

Gerri Ferguson knew her son was nervous about Army boot camp, uncertain how grueling and intimidating it would be. Then he discovered that a childhood friend, Thomas Barbieri, would be there as well.

"He was so happy that someone he knew would be there, too," said Ferguson, whose son was best friends with one of Barbieri's younger brothers and spent a lot of time at Barbieri's Gaithersburg home when they were boys. "I remember him telling me, 'Now I won't be so scared to go.' "

Ferguson's son remained stateside. Barbieri reported to the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg, N.C., in February 2005 and was sent to Afghanistan that year to support the national elections. The 24-year-old specialist and paratrooper was deployed to Iraq about a month ago.

He was killed Aug. 23 by enemy fire south of Baghdad.

"I just burst into tears when I found out," Ferguson said. "He was a hero and an excellent soldier, and the nice thing is he was a great role model from the very beginning."

Yesterday, hundreds of mourners, led by a large Montgomery County police motorcycle escort, gathered at Arlington National Cemetery to honor a son, brother and friend they remembered for his humor and desire to be a soldier.

Among the mourners were dozens of firefighters who knew Barbieri from his two years as an emergency medical technician for the Rockville Volunteer Fire Department. They arrived with a 1963 firetruck, among other vehicles, which joined the motorcade with a prized vintage Mustang that family members said Barbieri had lovingly restored.

Before he left, "I asked him, 'Why do you want to do this?' " recalled Russell W. Dawson, chief of the Rockville department. "He told me he always wanted to be in the Army."

Daniela Bigott, who served with Barbieri at the fire station, posted a message to his family in an online guest book for mourners.

"He was a true hero who wanted to serve his country in every way," Bigott wrote. "He died doing what he wanted to do."

James Seavey Sr., chief of the Cabin John Park Volunteer Fire Department, recalled meeting Barbieri for the first time in the parking lot of the Rockville department, where Barbieri was waxing an ambulance.

"He was very outgoing, very proud to be a member. You could see it on his face," said Seavey, who complimented Barbieri on what he called a job well done. "He said: 'You know, we can never look too good. This ambulance is going to be out in the community.' It struck me that that was a pretty old-school philosophy and something the older firefighters think gets lost in the modern world. But he certainly hadn't lost it."

Barbieri was "a true American hero and soldier, both in our community and abroad," he said.

Ferguson said she called her son, who is based at Fort Lewis, Wash., when she learned of Barbieri's death. He was "heartbroken," she said.

"You try not to think about what can happen, but these children are in danger," Ferguson said. "It could happen to any of them at any time. Our hearts just bleed for the [Barbieri] family."

Before the conclusion of the short service at Arlington, a crisply folded American flag was presented to Barbieri's mother, who kissed a long-stem red rose before placing it on her son's coffin.