Henry James Thol, Kalispell, Montana
LOCATION: The National Smokejumper Association hosted the Mann Gulch 75th Anniversary Memorial Tribute for Henry Thol at the C.E. Conrad Memorial Cemetery in Kalispell, Montana, on August 8, 2024. Thol, 19, died August 5, 1949, in the Mann Gulch fire, along with twelve other Missoula smokejumpers in the Mann Gulch Fire. James Harrison was formerly a Missoula smokejumper but was a fireguard at Meriwether Campground when he died.
SITE COORDINATORS: Chuck Underwood (MSO 61) & Dan Roberson (MSO 75), Eric Shelton (GAC 92), and Tory Kendrick (MSO 00)
BIOGRAPHY: Henry was born on April 17, 1930, in Kalispell, Montana. His parents were Henry Johannes Thol and Bothilde Marie Jorgensen, both German immigrants. Henry had a brother named John. Their father, Henry Sr., a District Ranger with the U.S. Forest Service, disputed Wag Dodge’s claim about his “escape fire” and insisted his fire ultimately caught and killed smokejumpers uphill of its flames. However, the final report absolved Dodge and the USFS of responsibility. Henry graduated from Flathead High School before joining the smokejumpers in Missoula in 1949. At the time of the Mann Gulch fire, Henry was 19, in his first year as a smokejumper. Previously, he had worked for the Forest Service as a Fire Guard at the Condon Work Center, adjacent to the Ranger Station.
Henry planned to enroll at Montana State University in Missoula in the fall and pay for his education using the money he earned from smokejumping. At the memorial, Dan Roberson, a former smokejumper who led the ceremony, said that Thol had been called off a roofing job to fight the Mann Gulch fire, which was sparked by dry lightning in the Gates of the Mountains Wilderness area in the Helena National Forest about 20 miles north of Helena.
RELATIVES: Five family members and three family friends were in attendance. Henry Thol’s younger brother John, a 91-year-old resident of Moscow, Idaho, was seventeen when Henry died, shared his appreciation for the people who attended and the ceremony itself. “It was wonderful what they did,” Thol said of the ceremony. “You know, it’s something that burned in our family for many, many years. He said his father, Henry Sr., was very bitter over the loss of his son, William, but John said, “This is nice. I couldn’t believe all the people. I was up in Mann Gulch the other day, and I couldn’t believe all the people I knew and those I knew of. It was pretty nice.” Five family members and three friends of the family were in attendance.
SITE COORDINATOR: Chuck Underwood and Dan Roberson shared duties as site coordinators for Henry Thol’s ceremony. “These 13 are more than just smokejumpers,” Roberson said. ”They were loving sons, brothers, uncles, cousins, valued friends. And for two wonderful husbands. Remember them as they are described: prototypical all-American boys, adventurous, outdoorsy, smart, hardworking, fun-loving, kind, poets, pranksters, and very patriotic.” Tory Kendrick (MSO 00) helped organize and coordinate the two memorials with Dan and Chuck. Chuck also thanked his wife, Carla for helping with the correspondence and research leading up to the memorials.
CEREMONY: Each of the memorials for Henry Thol and William Hellman was attended by over 120 people, including family members of the two victims. Sixty- six attendees signed the tribute registry. Seven smokejumpers, nineteen wildland firefighters, employees from various firefighting agencies, and longtime Kalispell residents came together to honor the men. The United Veterans of the Flathead Valley Honor Guard, led by Captain Mary Lou Fitzpatrick, honored both Henry Thol and Bill Hellman since the ceremonies were in the same cemetery. Even though only Hellman was a military veteran, they did an outstanding job presenting the colors and playing Taps at each ceremony. Dan Roberson ended the service with a prayer for Henry Thol. Flowers and a vase donated by Harvest Foods of Bigfork, Montana, were presented to John Thol, the fallen smokejumper’s brother, who told the crowd that he was surprised and delighted by the size of the crowd.
Erick Shelton (GAC 92) was a survivor of the 1994 South Canyon Fire on Storm King Mountain in Colorado. He shared similarities with that deadly fire and spoke with the Hellman and Thol families about his experience.
Dan Roberson was able to “snag” two parachutes to hang symbolically in the pines near the gravesites. Kevin Kleckner and Dawn Underwood helped secure the shroud lines to give the scene authenticity. Dawn Underwood also took many excellent photos that will be displayed on the web pages dedicated to the Mann Gulch 75th memorials.
RECOGNITION: There were thirteen smokejumpers in attendance including Jim Browne (MSO 49), Rick Cunningham (MSO 74), Sarah Doehring (MSO 91), Richard Hildner (MSO 67), Dick Hughes (MSO 64), Tory Kendrick (MSO 00), Menno Troyer (MSO 68), Mike Oehlerich (MSO 60), Michael Prezeau (MSO 67), Dan Roberson (MSO 75), Eric Shelton (GAC 92), Bob Smee (MSO 68), and Chuck Underwood (MSO 61). There were also 16 other firefighters, including the USFS and the DNRC Hotshots.
The NSA affixed a brass medallion to each of the fallen smokejumper’s gravestones. Whoever reads the inscription will know that each man is recognized as a hero by the National Smokejumper Association.
