lest we forget

THOMAS, ELMER WAYNE

Rank / Branch:

  • CORPORAL (POSTHUMOUS), U.S. ARMY

Date Of Birth:

  • 1945-06-08

Country Of Loss:

  • SOUTH VIETNAM

Status:

  • HOSTILE-SMALL ARMS FIRE

Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground:​

  • GROUND

Other:

  • DIVORCED

Unit:

  • AMERICAL

Date Of Loss:

  • 1968-05-25

Loss Coordinates:

  • QUANG TIM

Catagory:

  • BODY RETURNED

Awards & Decorations:

  • SEE BIO

VETERAN HAGI0GRAPHY

  • THOMAS, ELMER WAYNE, CORPORAL, U.S. ARMY, ODESSA, ECTOR, TEXAS

AWARDS AND DECORATIONS

  • COMBAT INFANTRYMAN'S BADGE, PURPLE HEART, NATIONAL DEFENSE SERVICE MEDAL, VIETNAM CROSS OF GALLANTRY WITH PALM, VIETNAM CAMPAIGN MEDAL

BIOGRAPHY

  • Elmer Wayne Thomas used his middle name Wayne. He was born in Odessa, the 6th child of Mr. and Mrs. J.W. Thomas. He attended Odessa schools, attending Crockett Junior High School and Odessa High. He graduated from Odessa High in 1964. He married Karen Kraft of Odessa and was the father of a daughter, Susan Carol. Karen and Wayne divorced in 1966. He worked in the oilfields and drafted into the U.S. Army and was inducted August 7, 1967, in Abilene, Texas.
  • He reported for basic training at Fort Polk, Louisiana and then finished in AIT in infantry at Fort Polk as well. He had a 14 day leave prior to starting his tour in Vietnam. He started his tour on February 6, 1968, and arrived in country during the TET offensive. He was assigned as an infantryman with B Company, 1st Battalion, 46th Infantry, 198th Light Infantry Brigade under the operational control of the 23rd Division (Americal).
  • On May 25, 1968, he and four other troops were on a listening post in the night defensive position (NDP). Wayne was shot to death by a sniper. He had been in Vietnam three months. His parents reported that he had been really interested in the Paris peace talks and spoke of it in many of his letters.
  • He was buried with full military honors in the Sunset Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Odessa, Texas. He received a posthumous promotion to Corporal. He was survived by his daughter, Susan Carol of Odessa, his parents, his older brothers, Tommy of Ozona, Johnny Ray of Dallas and his two older sisters, Patricia Dale of Riverside, California and Peggy Joe Everett of Odessa. He, also, was survived by his younger brother, Jimmy Lee of Odessa.
  • ODESSA HIGH SCHOOL 1962
  • ODESSA HIGH 1964 GRADUATION PHOTO
  • SUNSET MEMORIAL GARDEN'S CEMETERY, ODESSA, TEXAS