Sgt. Maj. Thomas Richard “Ric” Landreth, U.S. Army (ret.), 63, of Southern Pines, North Carolina passed away after a brief illness on Saturday, April 25, 2020. Landreth grew up right up the road in Holley, Florida and proudly served in the U.S. Army Special Ops Delta Force. He will be laid to final rest October 30 at Arlington National Cemetery.
Ric was born April 1, 1957, at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla. to the late Thomas & Peggy Broxson Landreth.
He was a veteran of #CSquadron, 1st SFOD-D, and would undertake several high-risk operations alongside his brothers in arms all over the world. He had more than 30 years of military service, including deployments to Grenada, Panama, Somalia, Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq.
He retired in 2005 at the age of 48 after serving 7 tours in 5 conflicts.
“Ric would never let us tell anyone this, as he and his squadron were all men of honor, but the book and movie ‘Black Hawk Down’ was about his squadron in the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia,” said his brother Mikey Landreth. “Ric was the real life guy of one of the characters.”
Family members say Ric loved his country and was extremely proud and honored to have served with such an elite group of brothers in arms.
In addition to his parents, Ric was preceded in death by one son, James Patrick Landreth. He is survived by his wife, children, grandchildren, two brothers, one sister, an aunt, and 22 nieces.
