This Monday, May 27th is Memorial Day, the day that we officially mourn U. S. military personnel who were killed while serving in the United States Armed Forces. Patrick County has given many of their sons and daughters for the war effort and sadly, many have not returned home.
One of Patrick County’s sons who did not make it back is Troy Lee Thomas. Troy was born to James “Jim” Samuel Thomas and Martha “Rennie” Edwards of Vesta, Virginia. Troy’s paternal grandparents were George Lee Thomas and Martha Jane Rakes Thomas, and his maternal grandparents were John Franklin Edwards and Nancy Lou Newman Edwards, all of the Vesta area.
Jim and Rennie Edwards Thomas’ first child, James Eldridge Thomas was born the 2nd of June 1920. James was never able to walk or talk and passed away in 1938, at the age of 18. The couple’s second child, a little boy, was stillborn on the 25th of March 1922. Jim and Rennie’s third child, a little girl named Evelyn Ruth, was born the following year. At the age of five, little Ruth contracted scarlet fever and died in 1928. Troy Lee was born on the 11th of March 1930 and the couple’s fifth child; Thelma Ruth was born the third of May 1935.
At the age of 34, Rennie Edwards Thomas succumbed to complications from tuberculosis. The following year, James died, and Jim was left to raise his 7-year-old son, Troy; and 3-year-old daughter, Thelma alone.
On June 10th, 1944, Jim married Gracie Etta Bowling and several years later, their daughter Phyllis was born. Phyllis’ big brother, Troy Lee Thomas graduated from Meadows of Dan High School in 1948 and was inducted into the United States Army on the 30th of August 1951. Troy was first sent to Fort Meade in Maryland and a week later to a camp in California, from which point he was flown to Hawaii, where he completed his basic training. In February 1952, Troy was sent to Korea and put in the thick of the fighting. He had recently been discharged from the hospital in Korea and was killed in action on the 13th of June 1952, his first day back on the front lines. On the 1st of July 1952, Troy’s father, Jim Thomas received a telegram from the Department of Defense notifying him that his son had been killed in action, two weeks prior.
The following information is listed in the Korean War Veterans Honor Roll: “Private Thomas was a member of the 160th Infantry Regiment, 40th Infantry Division. He was killed in action while fighting the enemy in North Korea on June 13, 1952. Private Thomas was awarded the Purple Heart, the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Service Medal, the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Presidential Unit Citation and the Republic of Korea War Service Medal.”
Korean War—1951–1953
We didn’t do much talking,
We didn’t raise a fuss.
But Korea really happened
So please – remember us.
We all just did our duty
But we didn’t win or lose.
A victory was denied us
But we didn’t get to choose.
We all roasted in the summer
In winter, we damn near froze.
Walking back from near the Yalu
With our blackened frozen toes.
Like the surf the Chinese kept coming
With their bugles in the night.
We fired into their masses
Praying for the morning light.
All of us just had to be there
And so many of us died.
But now we’re all but forgotten
No one remembers how we tried.
We grow fewer with the years now
And we still don’t raise a fuss.
But Korea really happened
So please – remember us.
—Lt. Cmdr. (Ret.) Roberto J. Prinselaar, U.S. Coast Guard
Thank you to Phyllis Thomas for sharing information about her big brother, Troy Lee Thomas. Next week, we will continue with the Blue Ridge Mission Schools series. Woody may be reached at rockcastlecreek1@gmail.com or (276) 692-9626.
