Lt. Commander Otis Vincent Tolbert

It´s been 23 years now and I still remember meeting you when one of the girls you were running around with in school came by my apartment and she introduced us. I graduated from LHS 5 years before you but after meeting you I always looked forward to seeing you and followed you through Fresno State. You always had that smile on your face that said " hi!, I´m your friend " and made everyone so comfortable that you met. I know your heart was as big as your size. I still think about you and...

Oh no! Otis Tolbert was the section leader for the people on medical hold at AOCS in Pensacola when I arrived there in 1987. I was put on medical hold and therefore was with him every day for several months until he got a billet at OCS in Rhode Island. He was a great guy and I always wondered how he made out after leaving AOCS. I wonder what happened to him. RIP.

I knew LCDR Tolbert briefly on my way through McDill in 1999. He was working on one of the intel desks at CENTCOM. I was being briefed in on the area to serve a six month tour with JTF SWA in Saudi Arabia. I spent some time with him when I debriefed on the way out in late December 1999. Four things stood to me. He was a big man. He was thoroughly professional and knew his job.. He had a great sense of humor. He was loved by the people he worked with. I know he is in a good place and...

I worked at the assisted living community where Lt. Commander Tolbert’s grandmother lived around the time of his passing. I met him when he stopped in to visit her. She was so proud of her “Butch,” and mentioned him often. He was a super nice guy and everyone was so sorry to learn of his death. I thank him and his family for his service and the sacrifice that he made for our country.

Hey Otis,
Im sorry for your loss and how it has impacted your children and wife. I am sure you would want them to be happy. And thanks for proudly serving the US Navy.

I wanted to let your family know that your sacrifice was not forgotten. This is many years late but I wish thank your family for allowing the nation to acknowledge your service, your sacrifice and the sacrifice your family goes through every day. On behalf of the members of the watchlords forum, thank you.

I thank you for your service, and today I pray for a special kind of blessings for all of your friends and family. We will never forget that day. May we all be 'REAL' men, like you and make this world a better place. Much love from Texas,

I was Ens. Vince Tolbert first Chief aboard the USS NIAGARA FALLS, homeported in Guam. What a Gem of an Officer he was, not just talk, but for real. I didn't initially know that Vince was in the Pentagon on 9/11 until I read the newspaper. Then I cried. Love you Vince, RIP.
BMCM Roy Q. Santos, USN, RET.