lest we forget

THOMAS, JONATHON E.

Rank / Branch:

  • FIRST SERGEANT, U.S. ARMY

Date Of Birth:

  • 1931-12-31

Country Of Loss:

  • SOUTH VIETNAM

Status:

  • NON HOSTILE-HEART ATTACK

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground:​

  • GROUND

Other:

  • NOT MARRIED

Unit:

  • 101ST AIRBORNE DIVISION

Date Of Loss:

  • 1967-01-23

Loss Coordinates:

  • NOT REPORTED

Catagory:

  • BODY RETURNED

Awards & Decorations:

  • SEE BIO

VETERAN HAGI0GRAPHY

  • THOMAS, JONATHON E. , JR, FIRST SERGEANT, U.S. ARMY, PECOS, REEVES COUNTY, TEXAS

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

  • BRONZE STAR, ARMY COMMENDATIONS MEDAL, GOOD CONDUCT WITH 3 BRONZE LOOPS, NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL WITH STAR, KOREAN SERVICE MEDAL, ARMY OF OCCUPATION MEDAL FOR GERMANY, VIETNAM SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM CROSS OF GALLANTRY WITH PALM, VIETNAM CAMPAIGN MEDAL al, Vietnam Campaign Medal.

BIOGRAPHY

  • Jonathon E. Thomas, Jr was born in Naples, Texas. He had a younger sister. His parents moved to Pecos, Texas where he attended school for a short period of time. He enlisted in the Army and entered on December 22, 1948 one day after he turned 17. He was career military having served with the U.S. Army 17 years as an artilleryman.
  • .He completed basic training at Fort Chaffe, Arkansas and air defense artillery training at Fort Bliss, Texas and was then assigned to a Mobile Air Defense Unit at Fort Bliss. He remained at Fort Bliss with one TDY to the South Pacific for two months 1/2 months in 1951 and returned to Fort Bliss. He re-enlisted on 22 December 1953 for service in Bremerhaven, Germany. In November 1954, he was reassigned to Pusan, Korea where he remained until 26 February 1956. He departed for service with the 25th Infantry Division at Schoefield Barracks, Hawaii. While serving with the 25th, he attended and graduated from the 25th Infantry NCO Academy and was promoted to Sergeant. He remained in Hawaii until July of 1960 and was promoted to Staff Sergeant. He returned to Fort Bliss and then was assigned to Okinawa from November 1961 until returning to Korea in Jan 1965 when he was promoted to Sergeant First Class.
  • He had started his tour in Vietnam on August 8, 1966, with a promotion to First Sergeant and he was serving with a 155 battery with A Battery, 27th Artillery; 101st Airborne Division. He suffered a heart attack and died on January 23, 1967.
  • He was buried with military honors in the Spring Hill Cemetery in Naples, Texas. He was awarded a posthumous Bronze Star for meritorious service. He was survived by his parents and his younger sister.
  • SPRING HILL CEMETERY, NAPLES, TEXAS