Anyone who knew Vallo will tell you he was a larger-than-life character; a man who loved life and lived it to the fullest degree and who, also, knew what he believed, stood his ground and could support any of his beliefs or opinions with a solid base of facts and irrefutable analysis. A man large in spirit and strong of character.
Vallo Truumees was born on April 6, 1938 in Kuressaare, Saaremaa, Estonia. The youngest of three children he and his family were made refugees by the Second World War but were able to emigrate to America in 1951; where they settled in Seabrook, N.J. He graduated from The Citadel (military college in South Carolina). He served 22 years in the military (doing two tours of duty in Viet Nam). He worked for the Joint Chiefs of Staff at the Pentagon from 1976 to 1983. After retiring from military service, he worked another 15 years for the DTSA (Defense Techno-logy Security Agency).
He died in Bavaria (perhaps his favorite place in the world) on May 18, 2009. He is survived by his wife Sigrid (Sigi), sons Marc and Eeric and four grandchildren,
The funeral was attended by nearly100 of his family members, friends and colleagues, including the Estonian Military Attaché in the United States, Colonel Meelis Kiili. His interment at Arlington was a fitting tribute for a man as large in stature and spirit as his ideals and as vivacious as his love of life. All of us Estonians should be thankful we had someone such as him in our corner.
Tenno Andra
Photo by Karru Martinson
