Donald G. Thomson Oral History Interview

Oral history interview by Mary Heers with Donald G. Thomson. Topics include: Growing up in Cedar City; His decision to join the military and participate in specialized training; service in Vietnam and Germany; Joining the Military police and moving into Criminal Investigation; Doing a lot of traveling; Leaving the army to attend college and returning to the Army after completing his degree; Joining Military Intelligence and developing a program to assist soldiers in Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape (SERE); A return to Germany and border operations between east and West Berlin; Learning leadership and experiencing a turning point in his career; Attending the U.S. Army Intelligence Center and School;Several rank advancements; Retirement and settling in Arizona; Starting a collection agency; An interest in law and taking law classes; Becoming the presiding judge with Huachuca City Municipal Court and faculty member of the Arizona Judicial College; Being contacted by the general of the Intelligence Center School to do more training as a civilia contractor; Being contacted by another general for assistance on contract work in Iraq; Resigning from his instructor position and taking a leave of absense form his judge duties to be the deputy director for force protection in Iraq; Returing to judge duties in Arizona, retirement after fourteen years, and a move to Fillmore; Earning degrees in criminology, business administration, and criminal justice administration; Stories from his time in Germany; Differences between East and West Berlin; Sending lots of crystal home to his mother; Traveling around Europe alot as a criminal investigator; Being sent to Germany multiple times; Eventual ranks and commands of leaders that he served under; Education opportunities in the military; His desire to learn and get all the training he could in the Army; His belief that knowledge is power; Meeting Congressman Jim Hanse (R-Utah) at Berlin border patrol; Congressman Hansen calling Don's mother to tell her that Hansen had met her son and inviting her to sit on the stand at a speach he was giving in Cedar City; Teaching calculated confessions and cover stories during SERE training with emphasis on remembering the cover so the story is the same for every interogation; His wife being retired military and former interogator; Narcotics and domestic violence projects during his time as a judge; His favorite court case; Being bored with retirement, but having plenty to do at his 156 year old home; Stopping in Fillmore on a road trip to Montana and moving to Fillmore because his wife remembered liking the town.

Mr. Donald Thomson began a career in the military in 1971. After attending a Combat Intelligence course in Arizona (along with other military schooling), he was deployed to Vietnam. He worked in East Germany for a while doing intelligence work. After that, he became a military policeman, then a military police investigator, then worked for the Army's Criminal Investigation Division. He held various positions in various places around the world working in various capacities of military intelligence, and then retired in 1993. After military retirement, he opened up a collection agency in Arizona for a while. He then spent 14 years as a city municipal court judge, during which time he also taught law courses. He worked for a year in Iraq as a contractor for security in support of American military troops.