Thomas J. Hayes III (August 26, 1914 – March 16, 2004) was a
United States Army Major General.
Early life and education
He started at
West Point in 1932 graduating as a Second Lieutenant in 1936.
Military service
Following graduation from West Point Hayes obtained a master's degree in civil engineering from
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He attended the Engineer School and was then posted to the 20th Engineer Regiment at
Fort Benning
Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...
.
[
]
World War II
At the outbreak of World War II he was overseeing the construction of Bluie West Eight
Sondrestrom Air Base, originally Bluie West-8, was a United States Air Force base in central Greenland. The site is located north of the Arctic Circle and from the northeast end of Kangerlussuaq Fjord (formerly known by its Danish name ''Søndr ...
air base in Greenland. In 1942 he was transferred to Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...
to oversee the construction of Oakes Field and Windsor Field.[
]
Postwar
In 1960, now a Brigadier General, he was appointed commander of the Ballistic Missile Construction Office, responsible for the construction of ICBM
An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a ballistic missile with a range greater than , primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads). Conventional, chemical, and biological weapons c ...
support and launch facilities across the U.S.[
In 1961, Hayes was awarded the ]Goethals Medal
The Goethals Medal is a national award given annually by the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME) to a registered engineer who is also a member of SAME prior to nomination. The nominated engineer must have made ''eminent and notable cont ...
.
He served as assistant to the Chief of Engineers for NASA Support and was involved in the construction of facilities at the Kennedy Space Center.
During the buildup of U.S. forces to meet the demands of the Vietnam War and the consequential demand for support services and infrastructure in South Vietnam
South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of th ...
, Hayes noted that "supporting units seem to bear more than their share of losses as a nation progressively reduces its Armed Forces in the years between wars".
He served as commander of the South Atlantic Division from 1967 until his retirement in 1969.
Later life
Hayes retired from the Army in August 1969.[
In October 1981, Hayes and Jan Howard, who had also lost a son in Vietnam, publicly unveiled the model of the winning design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.
]
Personal life
He married Jean Pedley in 1942 in Nassau. They had two daughters and a son. His son, Thomas J. Hayes IV, was killed in action in South Vietnam on 17 April 1968 while serving with the 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes III, Thomas J.
1914 births
2004 deaths
United States Army generals
Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army)