Herbert Joseph Thomas Jr. (February 8, 1918 – November 7, 1943) was a United States Marine who was awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during World War II.

Early life and education

He was born in

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

, but spent most of his childhood in South Charleston, West Virginia, where his family moved when he was seven years old. Thomas eventually went to Virginia Tech, joining the Virginia Tech Corps of Cadets as part of Charlie Company. He went on an American football scholarship. In his senior year of 1940, he led his team in pass receptions and scoring, and all Virginian college players in scoring. He would go on to be named to the

Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame The Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame was established in 1982 to honor and preserve the memory of athletes, coaches, administrators and staff members who have made outstanding contributions to athletics at Virginia Tech. A total of 211 individuals ...

. Thomas left Virginia Tech in July 1941 to enlist in the Army Air Corps,WWII Army Enlistment Records
/ref> but transferred to the Marines because many of his friends were in that branch of service.

Career

Thomas was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during combat versus

Japanese army The Japan Ground Self-Defense Force ( ja, 陸上自衛隊, Rikujō Jieitai), , also referred to as the Japanese Army, is the land warfare branch of the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Created on July 1, 1954, it is the largest of the three service b ...

forces on the battle of Koromokina Lagoon (on November 7, 1943). Thomas attempted to disable a machine gun post with a

hand grenade A grenade is an explosive weapon typically thrown by hand (also called hand grenade), but can also refer to a shell (explosive projectile) shot from the muzzle of a rifle (as a rifle grenade) or a grenade launcher. A modern hand grenade genera ...

. However, the grenade bounced off the jungle flora and fell back to his position. He immediately leaped onto the grenade to save the lives of his men, who went on to destroy the enemy machine gun.

Medal of Honor citation

The President of the United States takes pride in presenting the MEDAL OF HONOR posthumously to for service as set forth in the following CITATION:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while serving with the Third Marines, Third Marine Division, in action against enemy Japanese forces during the battle at the Koromokina River,
Bougainville Island Bougainville Island (Tok Pisin: ''Bogenvil'') is the main island of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville, which is part of Papua New Guinea. It was previously the main landmass in the German Empire-associated North Solomons. Its land area is ...
, Solomon Islands, on November 7, 1943. Although several of his men were struck by enemy bullets as he led his squad through dense jungle undergrowth in the face of severe hostile machine gun fire, Sergeant Thomas and his group fearlessly pressed forward into the center of the Japanese position and destroyed the crews of two machine guns by accurate rifle fire and grenades. Discovering a third gun more difficult to approach, he carefully placed his men closely around him in strategic positions from which they were to charge after he had thrown a grenade into the emplacement. When the grenade struck vines and fell back into the midst of the group, Sergeant Thomas deliberately flung himself upon it to smother the explosion, valiantly sacrificing his life for his comrades. Inspired by his selfless action, his men unhesitatingly charged the enemy machine gun and, with fierce determination, killed the crew and several other nearby defenders. The splendid initiative and extremely heroic conduct of Sergeant Thomas in carrying out his prompt decision with full knowledge of his fate reflect great credit upon himself and the United States Naval Service. He gallantly gave his life for his country.

Legacy

A United States Navy

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, manoeuvrable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy or battle group and defend them against powerful short range attackers. They were originally developed in ...

, the , was named in his honor. The destroyer was launched on March 25, 1945, and commissioned on May 29, 1945. The Thomas Memorial Hospital (now part of Thomas Health System) in South Charleston, West Virginia, is also named in his honor. Thomas Hall, a dormitory built in 1949 at Virginia Tech was named in his honor. The Herbert J Thomas Memorial Detachment #947 of the Marine Corps League is named in his honor.

References

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External links