Thomas Lawrence Thomspon was born January 10, 1922, in the community of Dunkirk, Chautauqua County, New York, to Lawrence Thompson and his wife Mary A (Jacuszewski) Thompson, natives of New York. In 1930 and 1940 the family resided in Dunkirk, where Thomas attended local schools and his father worked as machinist for multiple firms in the area. When Thomas registered for the draft on 30 June 1942, he was living at home and employed at the American Locomotive Company.

Thomas enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Forces on 20 October 1942 at Buffalo, New York. His enlistment record indicates that he was single, had completed 4 years of high school and was employed as an industry clerk. Upon completion of his flight training, he received his wings and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant. After additional operational training, he was assigned to the 600th Bomb Squadron of the 398th Bombardment Group (Heavy), Eighth Air Force, which flew B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers. In November 1943, 2Lt Thompson married the former Patricia Ann Palmer in November 1943.

The 398th BG was activated 1 March 1943 at Ephrata Air Base, Washington and departed the States in April 1944, flying the North Atlantic route to England, where it was based at Nuthampstead, Hertfordshire. The group flew its first combat mission on 6 May 1944, bombing the heavy guns and missile sites in Sottevast, France. Over the next thirteen months, the group focused its bombing missions on strategic targets, with attacks on airfields, naval facilities, oil refineries and factories in France, Germany, and Czechoslovakia. The group also provided air support for the D-Day invasion in June 1944, the Battle of Holland in September 1944, The Battle of Bulge in December 1944, and Operation Varsity in March 1945. 2Lt Thompson was the pilot of one of the original 398th BG crews that arrived in England, in April 1944. Records indicate that 2Lt Thompson was promoted to 1Lt in April 1944.

On 30 May 1944, 1Lt Thompson’s crew were flying their 6th combat mission aboard B-17G 42-102498, named “Tailend Charlie”, one of 25 heavy bombers from the 398th BG dispatched as part of a combined force, to bomb airplane manufacturing facilities in Dessau, Germany. Shortly after releasing their ordnance, 1Lt Thompson’s aircraft came under attack from German fighters and sustained severe damage from 20mm cannon fire. Due to the damage from the attack, the bailout order was given, and seven crewmembers were able to bailout of the aircraft before it crashed near Kothen, Anhalt-Bitterfield, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Six crew members survived and became prisoners of war. 1Lt Thompson and two other crew members were killed in the attack or in the resulting crash. The aircraft was the only aircraft from the 398th BG that failed to return from the mission.

1Lt Thomas Lawerence Thompson was initially buried near the crash site and after the war was reinterred at Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial in Saint-Avold, Lorraine, France.

Thank you, 1Lt Thompson, for your service and your sacrifice, you will not be forgotten.

Crew of B-17G 42-102498 “Tailend Charlie”

Pilot, 1Lt Thomas L Thompson (KIA)
Co-Pilot, 2Lt Conard M Zufall (POW)
Bombardier, 2Lt John H Doherty (POW)
Navigator, 2Lt Ralph Garson (POW)
Top Turret Gunner / Engineer, TSgt John Namey (POW)
Radio Operator, TSgt George H Gagne (POW)
Ball Turret Gunner, Sgt Ernst Pennell (KIA)
Waist Gunner, SSgt Victor Frisbie (KIA)
Tail Gunner, SGT George W Hartwell (POW)

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smart phone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story. SBTSProject/New York/Chautauqua.

If you noticed anything erroneous in this profile or have additional information to contribute to it, please contact me at malineric@outlook.com.

Sources:

1930 United States Federal Census
1940 United States Federal Census
U.S., Headstone, and Interment Records for U.S. Military Cemeteries on Foreign Soil 1942- 1949
U.S., World War II and Korean Conflict Veterans Interned Overseas
398th Bomb Group Memorial Association 398th Bomb Group Web Site
398th Air Expeditionary Group - Wikipedia
398th Bomb Group | American Air Museum
Select Records for Thomas L Thompson. ancestry.com
Select Records for Thomas L Thompson on fold3.com
Missing Air Crew Reports, #5312
The Buffalo News (Newspaper) Buffalo, New York 04 May 1944
The Buffalo News (Newspaper) Buffalo, New York 17 July 1944
Dunkirk Evening Observer (Newspaper) Dunkirk, New York 22 April 1944
Dunkirk Evening Observer (Newspaper) Dunkirk, New York 18 September 1944
Dunkirk Evening Observer (Newspaper) Dunkirk, New York 15 December 1944
1Lt Thomas L Thompson (1922-1944) - Find a Grave Memorial

Thomas L Thompson