Edited to add on November 7th, 2021: I've decided to use this blog for the 52 Ancestors: Week 26 topic of 'Conflict.' Mr. and Mrs. Thompson lost three children to things that could be called 'conflict.' One was a military accident, one was literally being wounded in war, and the other was catching tuberculosis and dying of it before the war had a chance to take him. If that's not conflict - nothing is. Imagine the conflicted feelings this family continued to feel for the rest of their lives.
I was working on this Murphy/Thomas family tree for a binder project.. and I stumbled upon this family.
Jesse Joseph Thomas (1901-1975) was the son of Hilary Sylvester Thomas and Frances Etta Hinton. Jesse married Pearl Marie Hancock (1903-1998).
I noticed three of their sons died in the 1940s -- one in 1942 and two in 1944, to be exact... and I started to wonder if they had all been WW2 casualties. I started to research them.
Jesse and Pearl, in total, had been the parents of eleven children but sadly lost three sons in close secession of one another.
The first was Jesse Joseph Thomas, Jr, only 21 years of age, on December 5th, 1942. He was in training at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, when the accident happened that claimed his life and several others. It reports him on Maxton Field in North Carolina -- but his death certificate states Montgomery, Alabama. Upon Googling, I can't find anything about Maxton Field other than an armed fight between the KKK and local Native Americans, in Maxton, N.C.
The second to lose his life was Hilary Sylvester Thomas (named for his Grandfather). He was only 19 years of age when died on January 26th, 1944. Hilary was an enlisted man who had been sent overseas with the 143rd Infantry, Company A. Every article I've come across says that Pvt. Thomas was killed "somewhere in Italy." I wanted to be a little more specific... so I dug into what the 143rd Infantry had been involved in.
They were involved in the campaign in the Liri Valley from September 1943 to early 1944. After the Liri Valley campaign, they went to Anzio in May of 1944.
Well.. Hilary died on January 26th, 1944, from artillery shell wounds to his face and neck. I believe that he succumbed to wounds that day but that the wounds had been inflicted in the Battle of Rapido River -- January 20th to January 22nd, 1944. It's said, too, on January 24th, that the Allied Forces have a major setback at the Gari River, that day. It's said on January 26th, they successful built a bridgehead over the Rapido.
Regardless, Pvt. Thomas' remains were finally brought home for burial in September of 1948. Four years later.
The third to pass away was Elisha Jerome Thomas, age 21, on March 9th, 1944. I at first thought his death might have something to do with the war.. as I found his draft card registration. But it appears before he had the chance to get properly into the military, tuberculosis caught him instead. I found his death certificate and noticed the mention of Boehne Hospital in Evansville. Anyone familiar with a little Evansville history will now, Boehne was their tuberculosis hospital.
All three boys were natives of Waverly, Union County, KY, and all three boys are buried in Reed, Henderson County, KY, at Saint Augustine Catholic Cemetery. If you're ever in Reed -- perhaps try stopping by Saint Augustine and paying your respects to the Thomas family.
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