Herbert Joseph Thomas

Who was Herbert Joseph Thomas?

Herbert Joseph Thomas Jr. was a Sergeant in the United States Marine Corps and a Medal of Honor recipient for his heroic actions during World War II.

He was born in Columbus, Ohio, but spent most of his childhood in South Charleston, West Virginia, where his family moved when he was seven years old. Thomas eventually went to Virginia Tech on an American football scholarship. In his senior year of 1940, he led his team in pass receptions and scoring, and all Virginia college players in scoring. He would go on to be named to the Virginia Tech Sports Hall of Fame. Thomas left Virginia Tech in July 1941 to enlist in the Army Air Corps, but transferred to the Marines because many of his friends were in that branch of service.

Sergeant Thomas was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions during combat versus Japanese forces on the battle of Koromokina Lagoon. Thomas attempted to disable a machine gun post with a hand grenade. However, the grenade bounced off the jungle flora and fell back to his position. He immediately leaped onto the grenade to save the lives of his men, who went on to destroy the enemy machine gun.