Clifford L Thomas Jr entered the Marine Corps on November 26th, 1942 and served until October 12th, 1945. He served at the Marine Corps base in San Diego, CA and was transported to New Zealand on the USS Mount Vernon. His battalion supplemented the 2nd Marine Division, 3rd Battalion. He stayed there for 6 months before shipping out to participate in the attack on Tarawa.He was on the troop transport ship USS Arthur Middleton when he was informed that his platoon was to land at Red Beach One. He made it shore safely and fought with the remaining members of his outfit. It wasn't until late in the day on November 20th, 1943 that he was wounded in the left ankle by gunfire and took some shrapnel in the leg. He was sent back to Pearl Harbor, HA and then to San Diego, CA on the U.S.S. Solace. He recuperated there and after he became an MP until his honorable discharge as a Corporal in the USMC. He received the Purple Heart, and Combat Action ribbon with 1 battle star for his participation in the Battle of Tarawa.
Sadly, Cliff passed away September 29th, 2009 and he rarely talked about his combat experience. If anyone has information or stories about him, I would love to hear/see them.
Thank you,
Josh Thomas
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Created 24 November 2010
