Tom Little (optometrist)
Tom Little was an optometrist from Kinderhook, New York,[1] United States, most widely known as the leader of an International Assistance Mission Nuristan Eye Camp team killed in the 2010 Badakhshan massacre.[2][3] The team was attacked in the Kuran wa Munjan District of Badakhshan Province, while returning from Nuristan to Kabul.
Little had worked in Afghanistan for over three decades and spoke Dari fluently.[4] He moved to Afghanistan in the late seventies and raised his three daughters there.
Little was posthumously recognized as the 2010 International Optometrist of the Year by the World Council of Optometrists[1] and was one of fifteen people awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom for 2010.[5][6]
Personal life
Little, the son of an ophthalmologist, attended Ichabod Crane High School in Valatie, New York, where he dated Libby, the woman who later became his wife.[7]
Little was a practicing Christian, and provided eye care to the Afghan people for free as a result of his faith. [8]
References
- 1 2 2010 International Optometrist of the Year from worldoptometry.org
- ↑ Gannon, Kathy (8 August 2010). "British aid worker killed in massacre in Afghanistan". The Herald. Retrieved 8 August 2010.
- ↑ Nordland, Rod (7 August 2010). "10 Medical Aid Workers Are Found Slain in Afghanistan". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
- ↑ "Slain NY doctor was in Afghanistan for 3 decades". Greenwich Time. 7 August 2010. Retrieved 7 August 2010.
- ↑ Announcing The 2010 Medal of Freedom Recipients, a November 17, 2010 blog post from the White House
- ↑ Obama lauds Medal of Freedom recipients
- ↑ Slain optometrist's deeds, words recalled at service, an October 9, 2010 article from the Times Union
- ↑ , The Hard Places: The Tom Little Story