Today our walk was dedicated in honor of:
Army Air Forces 1st Lt. John B. Thomas, Age 23 of Rochester, NY.
MIA/KIA Aug. 1, 1943
On September 30, 2022, the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) identified the remains of First Lieutenant John B. Thomas, missing from World War II.
First Lieutenant Thomas entered the U.S. Army Air Forces from New York and served in the 343rd Bombardment Squadron, 98th Bombardment Group. On August 1, 1943, Operation TIDAL WAVE, a bombing raid against the oil refineries around Ploiești, Romania, was launched. One hundred and seventy-seven B-24 Liberators took off from air bases in Libya for the raid. 1LT Thomas was the pilot of a Liberator (serial number 42-40312, nicknamed “Aire Lobo”) that was one of fifty-one planes that failed to return. His remains were not identified following the war. Operation TIDAL WAVE, while successfully damaging the Ploiești oil refineries, cost the lives of hundreds of USAAF airmen, many of whom were interred by Romanian citizens into the Bolovan Cemetery in Ploiești. During postwar operations there, the American Graves Registration Command exhumed unknown remains that were eventually reinterred at Ardennes American Cemetery and Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery. In 2017, DPAA began exhuming those unknowns for comparison with the unaccounted-for airmen lost during Operation TIDAL WAVE. The laboratory analysis and the totality of the circumstantial evidence available established an association between one set of these unknown remains and 1LT Thomas.
First Lieutenant Thomas is memorialized on the Tablets of the Missing at the Florence American Cemetery in Impruneta, Italy.
WWII Pilot to be buried in NY, 80 years after his death.
We had a great 8.97 Mile walk this morning. We walked threw The Gardens and enjoyed watching the wildlife then we walked on Northside Drive and made a stop at the Flea Market to get some flags and then we headed up 70, West Ave and then made a stop at the War Memorial Park down town before heading home. We had a great walk. I want to thank everyone who honked, waved, and saluted in helping me honor this hero. We had 171 honks. It was amazing. Thank you
Army Air Forces 1st Lt. John B. Thomas will not be forgotten !
