Thomas, Charles Leroy
1920-1980 · Contribution: 1944-1997
Received the Medal of Honor posthumously in 1997 for volunteering to ride in the lead vehicle of an assault on Climbach, France, in December 1944, drawing enemy fire onto himself and directing his platoon's counterattack despite severe wounds — one of seven Black WWII veterans honored after a 1990s Army study confirmed racial discrimination had denied Black soldiers fair Medal of Honor consideration
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Impact on the world
Commanding Company C of the segregated 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion, Thomas volunteered to lead the December 14, 1944, assault on the German-held village of Climbach, France, riding in an exposed M-20 scout car specifically to draw the enemy's first strike; when his vehicle took a direct hit and he was wounded by shrapnel, then hit again by machine-gun fire in the chest, arm, and legs, he still directed his men to deploy their anti-tank guns and continued commanding the fight from the field for roughly four hours until, satisfied his platoon could hold without him, he finally allowed evacuation. His 3rd Platoon, C Company, became the first Black combat unit to receive a Distinguished Unit Citation, and Thomas himself was the second Black American awarded the Distinguished Service Cross in the war, downplaying his heroics with characteristic modesty: “I know I was sent out to locate and draw the enemy fire, but I didn't mean to draw that much.” His award was upgraded to the Medal of Honor in the January 1997 White House ceremony, accepted by his niece.
Life & background
Born April 17, 1920, in Birmingham, Alabama, Thomas moved with his family to Detroit, Michigan, as part of the Great Migration, graduating from Cass Technical High School in 1938 and working as a molder alongside his father at Ford's River Rouge plant while studying mechanical engineering at Wayne State University. Drafted in January 1942, he trained at Camp Wolters, Texas, then joined the newly forming, all-Black 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion at Camp Carson, Colorado, rising to sergeant and attending Tank Destroyer Officer Candidate School before his 1943 commission as second lieutenant. After recovering from his Climbach wounds — which left his right arm permanently withered — he remained in the Army, retiring as a major in 1947; he married Bertha Thompson in 1949, raised two children, and worked as a missile technician at Selfridge Air Force Base and later as an IRS computer programmer, rarely discussing his wartime service even with close family. He died of cancer on February 15, 1980, in Wayne, Michigan, seventeen years before his Medal of Honor was finally awarded.
Sources
- National Park Service; National WWII Museum; Army Times; VA News (America250)
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