PGRNY Completed Missions

Honor Mission

Lt. John B. Thomas

US Army Air Forces

North Rose, NY - 05/19-20/2023

***UPDATED 19 May 2023 - 13:35 hrs***
Second Stage details have been added to this mission.
See details below.

Mission applies to the following Region(s):

Region 1, Region 2, Region 3

About the Mission:

The remains of U.S. Army Air Forces 1st Lt. John B. Thomas, of Rochester, New York, were finally identified in September of 2022, the U.S. Department of Defense’s Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced Thursday.

Mr. Thomas was 23 years old when he was assigned to the 345th Bombardment Squadron (Heavy), 98th Bombardment Group (Heavy), 9th Air Force in the summer of 1943. Mr.Thomas flew a B-24 Liberator bomber during Operation TIDAL WAVE, which was the largest bombing mission against the oil fields and refineries in Ploiesti, Romania. John was killed during Operation TIDAL WAVE when his plane was hit by enemy anti-aircraft fire and crashed on Aug. 1, 1943, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

In total, 177 B-24 Liberators took off from air bases in Libya for the raid in Operation TIDAL WAVE. Thomas’ Liberator, nicknamed the “Aire Lobo,” was one of 51 planes that didn’t return. Hundreds of airmen died in the mission, which was ultimately successful in damaging the oil refineries. Mr. Thomas’ remains were not identified following the war and were buried along with the unknowns at the Civilian and Military Cemetery of Bolovan in Ploiesti. He earned the Purple Heart, Air Medal w/ 2 oak leaf clusters, and Distinguished flying cross.

Primary Staging Date and Staging Time:

05/19/2023 at 3:30 pm

Staging Location:

Farnsworth - Keysor Funeral Home
5025 Main St.
North Rose, NY 14516

Lead Ride Captain and Contact Info:

Nigel Heaton - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

585-202-0490

Special Covid-19 Mission Guidelines:

Updated 8 March 2022

Based on the most current COVID-19 Prevention Guidelines: Protect Yourself and Your Family from COVID-19, and CDC Guidelines of 3 March 2022, going forward, the Lead Ride Captain for any mission will be responsible for determining whether PGR members will have to mask up or not. Please ensure that you have a mask with you, should the need arise, and respect the LRC’s decision in these matters.

Special Information:

Please do what you can to show your support for this family. It is a homecoming, but 80 years late. We will stand in honor from 4:00 to 7:00 pm this Friday, May 19th.
At this time I'm still waiting on information for Saturday, May 20th for the Funeral

Is there a Second Stage to this Mission?

yes

Second Staging Date and Staging Time:

UPDATED

05/20/2023 at 10:30 am

Second Location:

Farnsworth - Keysor Funeral Home
5025 Main St.
North Rose, NY 14516

Second Lead Ride Captain and Contact Info:

Nigel Heaton - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

585-202-0490

Second Stage - Special Information:

Service starts at 11:00 am.  If arriving late by motorcycle during service, please shut your bike down prior to the funeral home so as not to disturb the service. Afterwards, we will escort to the cemetery for full Military Honors.

Submitted by:

Nigel Heaton

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.