Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, December 05, 2002

Thomas A. KINTON, U.S. Army Reserves, Special Forces, was recently promoted to the rank of major.

KINTON is the son of pastor Doris KINTON of Oak Park, IL, fomerly of Mount Ayr.

He is a 1982 grduate of Mount Ayr Community high school and received his bachelor of arts degree in 1986 from the University of Northern Iowa.

He and his wife, Vanessa ROJAS KINTON, who he met at UNI, are the parents of two sons, isaac and Tommy.

KINGTON teaches English in a Baltimore, MD middle school.

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, September of 2012

Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, September 22, 2005

Tom KINTON of Ellston stopped through Mount Ayr on the way to make a relief trip to help following Hurricane Katrina's devestation. He thanked all the people who contributed materials and money for the mission there.

"We have repaired four roofs and cleared 12 houses, a parsonage and two chruches of trees, limbs and mud," he said."The people here are warm and gracious, and want you all to know how much they appreciated the geneerosity of the people in Ringgold County. It makes me proud to be from Iowa."

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, October of 2012

Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, December 22, 2005

EDITOR'S NOTE: Ringgold county resident Tom Kinton is stationed back in Baghdad again.

This is a message he wrote and read aloud at a little Christmas service held in Baghdad.

It's just us sitting here, Lord, together, lots of guns, some glory, and each with a longing to feel more of what we are feeling now in this place.

We are searching for meaning in a seeingly meaningless place; longing for a spot of quite in the unending noise of life. We want to hear church bells instead of booming guns and unfamiliar language. We want to sleep through the night without waking.

I wonder sometimes if mary and Joseph had a quiet time during the birth of Christianity. Did the car bombs wake their newborn baby? Did the Prince of Peace sleep through the celebratory shouting? Did He wake, crying, or did He smile, knowing? I wonder.

I wonder, like the wristband says, "What Would Jesus Do?" I wonder what He would think about us, here, each for different reasons, with all of our different desires. I wonder how He would talk to us; what He would look like; what would He say? Maybe He looks like everybody else here in the street. Maybe His name is Muthena, or Ali, or Sarah, or Ibtesam, or even Mohammend. I wonder.

I wonder how many sacrifices must be made before everyone realized that it is Jesus, and faith, that is dying everyday, not just busses exploding or the shattering of Humvee windshields and far too many young lives. I wonder. How would I recognize Him? What would He look like? If He was wounded, and I tried to help Him, would I be punished if I couldn't? I wonder.

Then I realize the full truth of Christianity, and the ultimate difference between all religions of the world and the extreme beliefs of the few; it just doesn't matter what I do, it doesn't matter if I try and fail. In Christianity what matters is not the result, but the trying, the striving, the example we set.

God sent His Son to Earth with the full knowledge of predestination. He knew His Son would be crucified, and He accepted that as a small price to pay for correcting Mankind's erant ways and wicked behaviors.

We know it, too. We know, deep down inside, that God wants us to be here. Not for money, not for politics, not even for each other. He wants us here as an example; a light for the world.

Joseph and Mary heard the call to prayer that night, as the Son of God came into the world of Christianity. The Wise Men brought gifts, not poisoned drinks or car bombs. The message of Jesus' life in the world is not anger, or fighting, but living together, striving together, living. Not suffering, or violence, or death.

The message of Jesus' coming into our world is as valid and fresh today as it was 2,000 years ago. That message is compassion, love, empathy, and forgiveness. For you, and Muthena and Ali, and Ibetesam, and Sarah, and even Mohammed. Be the message; that is what the Messenger, the Messiah, expects of each one of you.

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, September of 2012

Mount Ayr Record-News
Mount Ayr, Ringgold County, Iowa
Thursday, January 20, 2010

Army major Tom KINTON, who works with a provincial reconstruction team in Khost, Afghanistan as a civil affairs specialist, recently reported on his latest assignment for the Mount Ayr Record-News

KINTON is the son of Doris KINTON of Sun Valley Lake and a graduate of Mount Ayr Community high school.

Here's his report:

"Hi from Afghanistan. I am serving in the Army (still) with a Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT). Led by a US Navy Captain (0-6, one rank under admiral or general), the PRT has around 85 soldiers and sailors, along with two Air Force folks.

"We came together in late July in Indiana for a three-month training cycle. Training at Camp Atterbury (a National Guard base) was tough, long and hot. We practiced live-saving techniques such as applying tourniquets, driving huge armored trucks called MRAPS (mine resistant armored trucks), studying the local Pashot lanaguage, and, of course, shooting different weapons.

"The main mission, however, required us to become skilled negotiators, to prepare us for dealing with the Afghan citizens.

"Afghans have bcome accustomed to violence, and to living without a viable central or even local government. That's where we come in. Our job is to connect the local Afghan villagers to their government representatives.

"Sometimes that means taking the Afghan government workers along on our convoys (or helicopters) to get them in front of the people. Driving here can be very dangerous, and unfortunately the best way to get to work for them is to ride with us.

"We stayed this trip in a district center, which is like a small courthouse. Living in the building are some Afghan police, some Afghan army soldiers and some U.S. soldiers.

"The first hour we were at the building the 'bad guys' greeted us with six rounds of 82 millimeter (about the size of a pop can) artillery. Good thing for us that the enemy is not a very good shot. The rounds landed about 130 yards from our position, and were very loud.

"We were at the district center to check on the police, and they were doing their job. They report in the morning, get a briefing from their commander, and head out on foot to their posts around the area.

"The district center has two cooks, one who bakes bread and the other who does the rest. They fed us rice with lamb, and some tomatoes and onions that were locally grown. We all sat on the floor for the mealtimes and ate with our right hands (the left hand in some cultures is considered unclean.)

"We stayed in this location three days and two nights, and it was cold. The Afghans brought firewood and we all sat up till late, around the fire inthe middle of the open courtyard of the district center.

"It seems like we are making some progress here. Our combination of taking out bad guys and supporting the government with projects and expertise is reducing the number of attacks where we operate. Yes, we spend money. We are refurbishing local elementary schools, building some parts of the road network, putting in bridges and also helping to train farmers in better soil management practices. And yes, it pays off.

"We know that the bad guys still have influence onthe locals, but we are winning in small but important ways. They key seems to be patience. We have to keep knocking on doors, keeping coming back to meetings, keep teaching classes, and yes, keep taking out the insurgents (which we do very well, no matter what you might hear.)

"I'm not sure what will happen with Afghanistan, but we are making a difference here in Khost."

Photograph courtesy of Mount Ayr Record-News

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, April of 2011