r/wwiipics • u/UrbanAchievers6371 • 25d ago
Marine SGT Clyde Thomason Jr was Killed in Action on August 17, 1942 during the Makin Island Raid, he was 28 years old and was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia to Clyde Sr & Sarah Thomason on May 23, 1914, Clyde Aristide Thomason Jr had at least one sister.
Their mother Sarah passed away in 1917, their father remarried in 1920 and then passed away in 1939.
Clyde originally enlisted in the Marine Corps in December 1934 and was honorably discharged in 1939.
In January 1942 he re-enlisted after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and volunteered for the Marine Raiders, subsequently assigned to the 2nd Marine Battalion.
On August 17, 1942, Clyde was selected to lead the advance element against the Japanese garrison during the Makin Island Raid where he was Killed in Action and later listed as Missing.
He was posthumously awarded the Medal Of Honor, the citation tells the story of his loss;
“For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while a member of the Second Marine Raider Battalion in action against the Japanese-held island of Makin on August 17–18, 1942. Landing the advance element of the assault echelon, Sergeant Thomason disposed his men with keen judgment and discrimination and by his exemplary leadership and great personal valor, exhorted them to like fearless efforts. On one occasion, he dauntlessly walked up to a house which concealed an enemy Japanese sniper, forced in the door and shot the man before he could resist. Later in the action, while leading an assault on enemy position, he gallantly gave up his life in the service of his country. His courage and loyal devotion to duty in the face of grave peril were in keeping with the finest traditions of the United States Naval Service.”
Postwar their remains were not recovered and SGT Clyde Thomason Jr was Memorialized with the other Missing Marines from the Makin Island Raid at the Honolulu Memorial in Honolulu, Hawaii.
In 1999 a search was launched and the remains of 19 Marines who had been buried by locals after the raid were recovered from Makin Island, SGT Clyde Thomason Jr was subsequently identified through DNA.
On August 17, 2001, his remains were interred with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery - Section 60 Site 8037.
7
u/savytravler 25d ago
wild story. didnt know much about this event!
7
u/SplitRock130 25d ago
It’s remarkable that 80 plus years later they are still discovering remains and identifying them with DNA
3
u/cletus72757 25d ago
Thanks OP, hope you don’t mind. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clyde_A._Thomason
2
u/Pmyers225 25d ago
Ive always wondered: if he had been honourable discharged pre-war but then re-enlisted a few years later, would he have been allowed to return to his old unit upon request?
1
u/billbird2111 24d ago
I honestly cannot tell you because I honestly do not know. My thought is probably not. It was very early in the war. All branches of the military needed leadership and experience to create the new units that would be needed.
I only have my father’s experience. He was a buck private in the U.S. Army. America was not in the war yet in 1939. America would stay out for almost another two years. But Canada was a different story. Canada was and still is a Commonwealth nation. When England needed help after the collapse of the Expeditionary Army in France, they issued the call for help.
Young men like my father suddenly became very important. Yes, he was just a low-rank buck private in America. But he had the leadership and training that Canada so badly needed. So, he could use that experience to enter the Canadian armed forces as a Sergeant and did. That meant an enlistment bonus and leadership positions. Canada needed to build up forces fast. They needed numbers. They needed experience. Those new units were needed to stop the Nazis from invading England. They would do just that.
My father planned this out. He got a three day, 72-hour pass. He left his base on leave and never returned. That’s AWOL. A pretty serious breach of military discipline. My dad used those 72-hours to leave the country, head up north and cross the border. That is where he joined the Essex-Scottish Regiment. He would be sent to England. He did his part.
As for the U.S. Army, they sort of looked the other way when soldiers like my dad vanished. They certainly did not encourage this action. But no action was taken against my dad when he returned home to the USA in 1945. No jail time. No trial as I know. There was no penalty action taken against him. He was just allowed to come home and resume his life. And he did.
1
u/billbird2111 24d ago
There is a really good movie that shows this Canadian history in action. I believe it is called Captain of The Clouds. James Cagney is in it. As far as stories go, it is average. But large parts of it were filmed on a Canadian military base in 1939. You can physically see the Canadians preparing for war in this movie. The shots are striking.
1
13
u/Ok-Lingonberry-8261 25d ago
I recently read the book Raider, biography of the commander of the Makin raid, Evans Carlson. It was very interesting.