MANKATO — Way back in December, when Charlie Thompson was sending out e-mails telling people about a fishing pier being dedicated to his fallen son, Ben Grumbles told his boss he would need time off to make a summer trip to North Mankato.

Grumbles flew in from Columbus, Ohio, this weekend. The first stop was his hotel. His next stop was Spring Lake Park’s new Thompson Pier, where, just by chance, he ran into Charlie.

They spent the next hour sharing stories about Charlie’s son, Staff Sgt. Jacob M. Thompson, who was 26 years old when he was killed in action in Iraq on Aug. 6, 2007. Jacob and Grumbles were good friends and served together.

Grumbles told the story about the time Jacob, after learning that another friend couldn’t afford to fly home for leave, bought his fellow soldier a plane ticket. He also told Charlie about all the time he had spent in Jacob’s fishing boat when they weren’t overseas.

And the two men talked about how the pier, which was officially dedicated in Jacob Thompson’s honor during a ceremony Sunday, was the perfect way to honor the man they both loved. Thompson grew up within walking distance from the park and, as a child, spent hours casting fishing lines into Spring Lake.

“The best part about this pier and this ceremony is Charlie sees how much Jacob was loved and how much people appreciate what his son did,” Grumbles said Sunday. “That’s important for Charlie. He deserves that.”

It’s been nearly three years since Charlie Thompson and his wife, Barb, received the news that their son and three other soldiers had been killed by a bomb while checking a house in Iraq on Aug. 6, 2007. At the time, Jacob Thompson was at the end of a 15-month tour and just two weeks from returning home.

Clearly struggling to hold back his emotions, Charlie said he appreciates what the city and its employees have done to honor his son. Many hours of work went into building the pier, which has a 30-foot-diameter circular deck at the end of an 80-foot wooden walkway. On the shore, a large stone patio serves as an entryway to the pier.

A plaque at the opening to the walkway, showing Jacob Thompson’s face, remained covered until the end of the ceremony.

“I honestly believe that, when I see that plaque, it’s going to be special, very special,” Charlie Thompson said. “I have bragged and I have bragged about what you have done here.”

Jerad Ristau, 13, lives down the street from the Thompsons. He has become friends with Charlie. He helped with the pens Charlie made from scrap wood left over from the dock. The pens were given to the North Mankato City Council and members of the pier’s construction crew.

Ristau also loves to go fishing. He was using the dock before it was finished to pull crappies out of the lake. Ristau said he has asked Charlie Thompson to grab a pole and join him “a lot.”

“He doesn’t want to,” Ristau explained. “It’s hard for him.”

As a former co-worker at Taylor Corp., Mayor Gary Zellmer has known Charlie Thompson for years. During his dedication speech, he said he best remembers Jacob Thompson as the “little boy” who would follow his father into the office occasionally on evenings and weekends.

He suggested his old friend should change his mind about fishing.

“Let’s hope this pier will help Charlie and the rest of us teach another generation of kids how to fish and, more importantly, how to live,” Zellmer said.