Thomas E. Little (March 20, 1949 – August 5, 2010) was an American Christian

optometrist Optometry is the healthcare practice concerned with examining the eyes for visual defects, prescribing corrective lenses, and detecting eye abnormalities. In the United States and Canada, optometrists are those that hold a post-baccalaureate f ...

from

Kinderhook, New York Kinderhook is a town in the northern part of Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 8,330 at the 2020 census,U.S. Census, 2020, 'Kinderhook town, Columbia County, New York' making it the most populous municipality in Columb ...

. Little was the leader of an

International Assistance Mission The International Assistance Mission (IAM) is the longest continually serving non-profit organisation in Afghanistan. They are a well-respected NGO working to improve lives and build local capacity in health, development and education. They are a ...

team in Afghanistan that was attacked in the

2010 Badakhshan massacre On 5 August 2010, ten members of International Assistance Mission (IAM) Nuristan Eye Camp team were killed in Kuran wa Munjan District of Badakhshan Province in Afghanistan. The team was attacked as it was returning from Nuristan to Kabul. On ...

; he and nine other members of his team were murdered. He is a posthumous recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Biography

The son of an ophthalmologist, Little attended Ichabod Crane High School in

Valatie, New York Valatie (; ) is a village with several waterfalls in Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 1,785 at the 2020 census. The village is at the center of the town of Kinderhook on US 9. History Valatie was first named ''Pac ...

, where he dated his future wife, Libby. The couple's three daughters were educated at

Woodstock School Woodstock School is an international coeducational residential school located in Landour, a small hill station contiguous with the town of Mussoorie, Uttarakhand, India, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Woodstock is one of the oldest reside ...

in India. In 1976, Little traveled to Afghanistan. Although only intending to stay there for several months, Little ultimately spent the next 34 years building up the country's eye care services during successive regime changes. Little spoke

Dari Dari (; endonym: ), Dari Persian (, , or , ), or Eastern Persian is the variety of the Persian language spoken in Afghanistan. Dari is the Afghan government's official term for the Persian language;Lazard, G.Darī – The New Persian ...

fluently. He was involved in National Organization of Ophthalmic Rehabilitation Eye Project, and he trained Afghans in optical care. In August 2010, Little's medical relief team was attacked by masked gunmen in the

Kuran wa Munjan District Kuran aw Munjan () is one of the 28 districts of Afghanistan, districts of Badakhshan province in eastern Afghanistan. Located in the Hindu Kush mountains, the district is home to approximately 8,000 residents. The district administrative center ...

Badakhshan Province Badakhshan Province (Dari: بدخشان) is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the northeastern part of the country. It is bordered by Tajikistan's Gorno-Badakhshan in the north and the Pakistani regions of Lower and Upper C ...

while returning from

Nuristan Nuristan, also spelled as Nurestan or Nooristan (Pashto: ; Katë: ), is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan, located in the eastern part of the country. It is divided into seven districts and is Afghanistan's least populous province, with a ...

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

. The team had spent two weeks traveling between remote villages on foot and providing medical care. Ten members of the team, including six Americans, were murdered. The Taliban took responsibility for the attack, claiming that the Christian-sponsored team was attempting to proselytize Muslims. (The International Assistance Mission, the nonprofit group that coordinated Little's August 2010 trip, denied the accusation.) Little's body was found on August 7, 2010. At Little's memorial service, his friend, Rev. James Hale, said, "'When Tom believed in Christ and trusted in Christ it wasn’t just something in his head'". On August 21, 2010, Little's body was interred at the British Cemetery in Kabul, Afghanistan. Little was posthumously awarded the

Presidential Medal of Freedom The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, alongside the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by decision of the president of the United States to "any person recommended to the President ...

by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

on February 15, 2011. Obama called Little a "'humanitarian in the true sense of the word'". Little was also posthumously recognized as the 2010 International Optometrist of the Year by the World Council of Optometrists.2010 International Optometrist of the Year
from worldoptometry.org

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Little, Tom 1949 births 2010 deaths American optometrists People from Kinderhook, New York Deaths by firearm in Afghanistan Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients