Lieutenant Charles L. Thomas

First Lieutenant (later Major) Charles L. Thomas was drafted in 1942 and completed Basic and Advanced Infantry Training at Camp Wolters, Texas. He was assigned to the 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion when it was activated at Camp Carson, Colorado and rose to the rank of sergeant during five months of unit training. Thomas was selected for Officer Candidate School, when the battalion moved to Camp Bowie, Texas in December 1942.

Thomas was commissioned a second lieutenant upon graduation from Tank Destroyer OCS Class # 21, Camp Hood, Texas on March 11, 1943. He returned to the 614th and assumed command of Company C in preparation for deployment to England. The 614th later joined Patton’s Third Army in Metz, France.

On December 14, 1944, LT Thomas volunteered to lead the 3rd Platoon of his company to storm and capture the village of Climbach, a strategically important town five miles from the German border. Approaching Climbach, Thomas’s scout car was disabled by enemy fire, and he was wounded. Thomas helped his crew out of the vehicle but as he left the car’s protection he was again wounded in the chest, leg and arms. Despite his wounds, Thomas directed the dispersal and emplacement of the anti-tank guns, which then returned fire and covered the attempt by the rest of the task force to outflank the defenders. Only when he was sure the situation was under control did Thomas allow himself to be evacuated.

The courageous conduct of the platoon enabled the task force to capture its objective. The soldiers led by LT Thomas received four silver stars, and nine bronze stars. LT Thomas received the Distinguished Service Cross and the platoon received the Distinguished Unit Citation.

In the early 1990s, it was determined that Black soldiers had been denied consideration for the Medal of Honor in World War II because of their race. After an exhaustive review of files, the valor awards of LT Thomas and six other Black Americans who served in World War II were upgraded to the Medal of Honor. Charles L. Thomas received the Medal of Honor posthumously when his niece accepted it on his behalf from President Clinton in 1997.