First Lieutenant Thomas Edmond Mingledorff III passed away on April 4, 2020. Ed was born in Tallahassee on February 4, 1944. He graduated from Leon High School, where he was president of the Exchange Club. He then graduated from Florida Southern College in Lakeland, Florida, where he was president consul of Sigma Chi Fraternity and was an active member of the Interfraternity Council. After graduation, he served the U.S. Army as an intelligence advisor to 300 South Vietnamese soldiers in Phong Dinh Province. He was awarded military decorations for his 1968-1969 tour of duty in South Vietnam, including the Bronze Star with an Oak Leaf Cluster (denoting an additional award of the same medal), the Combat Infantryman’s Badge (for active ground combat in the Mekong Delta), the National Defense Service Medal, the Vietnam Service Medal, the Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross Medal with a Bronze Star and an Oak Leaf Cluster on the ribbon (for active combat in South Vietnam at the Regiment or Brigade level), the Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal, the Vietnamese Silver Star (for combat valor), the Bronze Star with Valor Medal (awarded for heroism) and the Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces Honor Medal (for actively contributing to the formation and organization of the Vietnamese military and participating in cadre training of Vietnamese units). After military service, Ed was vice president at Quincy State Bank, followed by a term as president of Apalachicola State Bank. Ed was always the life of the party and the person who put together the fishing and hunting trips, of which there were many. He was an excellent fisherman. Ed grew up at Alligator Point, Florida, on weekends and he could ski on anything, even a boat paddle. He loved his lifelong friends, who are too numerous to mention. Ed is survived by his son, Towers, and his daughter, Polly.
The interment service honoring First Lieutenant Thomas Edmond Mingledorff III is scheduled for Friday, May 24, 2024, at 1:00 p.m. at the Tallahassee National Cemetery.
