Thomas was drafted in 1943 at the age of 18. Most people believe that in WWII, when a male was drafted into the military, he was inducted into the Army. Not so. Late in the war, a male could be drafted into any service, including the Marines.
Thomas was thus drafted into the U.S.Navy. He was assigned to the Navy’s construction unit “The Seabees.” The Seabees were responsible for building runways and other vital military construction jobs. Many times the Seabees would be constructing a runway, and when attacked by enemy forces, such as Iwo Jima, the construction crews would jump off their bulldozers and fight alongside the Marines and soldiers.
His rating was of a storekeeper30 USN-I. Thomas was assigned to the British West Indies, Trinidad.
Thomas was awarded the WWII Victory medal, American Campaign ribbon, and a marksman medal.
He
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