United States. A Pearl Harbor Purple Heart to Fireman Third Class, USS Arizona

A Pearl Harbor Purple Heart to Fireman Third Class Stanley Horace Thomas, United States Navy, USS Arizona ; Two-piece construction, bronze gilt with purple, red, white and green enamels, engraved "STANLEY H. THOMAS F3cUSN" on the reverse, 35 mm (w) x 43.5 mm (h), original ribbon with brooch pinback, intact enamels, extremely fine. In its hardshelled case of issue, white satin lined on the inside lid, purple embroidered medal bed, case also extremely fine. Accompanied by a binder containing copies of multiple pages of his Service Records, along with assorted research papers and four Reproduction Photographs of the USS Arizona (two showing the battleship upon completion of modernization at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Portsmouth, Virginia; the other two showing the battleship smoldering after the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor).

 

Footnote: Stanley Horace Thomas was born on November 1, 1920 in Whitinsville, Worcester County, Massachusetts, the son of Eugene Ernest Thomas. He had achieved a Grade 10 education when he enlisted for six years' service as an Apprentice Seaman in the United States Navy, on April 2, 1940 in Springfield, Massachusetts, at the age of 19, stating that he had no previous military service and that he was Single. He was soon transferred to the Naval Training Station in Newport, Rhode Island. It was here that he was tested and marked in multiple areas, including (with scores): General Classification (80), Mechanical Aptitude (54), Arithmetic (40), English (77) and Spelling (66). He also qualified in recruit swimming (side, breast and back strokes, along with free style), in addition to life saving skills. Ten and a half weeks after enlisting, Apprentice Seaman Thomas was transferred to the Receiving Station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on June 14, 1940. Three days later, he was transferred to the Benson-class destroyer USS Kalk (DD-611) on June 17th and while serving here, his rating was changed to Seaman Second Class on August 2nd. After almost three months with the USS Kalk, Seaman Second Class Thomas was transferred to the Austin-class amphibious transport dock USS Trenton (LPD-14) on September 12th, which was followed by a transfer to the Receiving Station at the Naval Operating Base in Norfolk, Virginia, where he designated for further transfer to the Pennsylvania-class battleship USS Arizona (BB-39) on September 17th. After three and a half weeks, he was received on board the USS Arizona on October 11th and while serving here, his rating was changed to Fireman Third Class on March 1, 1941. Fireman Third Class Stanley Horace Thomas, United States Navy was Killed in Action while aboard the battleship USS Arizona (BB-39) during the attack by the Japanese at Pearl Harbor, on December 7, 1941. In a telegram from the U.S. Navy to his father, Eugene, dated December 21, 1941, the Navy informed his father that he had been declared Missing in Action. That correspondence was followed by a telegram from the U.S. Navy to his father, Eugene, dated February 4, 1942, the Navy informing his father, that after an exhaustive search, it was found to be impossible to locate his son and that as a result, he was declared to have lost his life while in the performance of his duty. By November 1949, it was determined that his remains were "non-recoverable". Fireman Third Class Thomas is remembered with honor on the USS Arizona Memorial in Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii and was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart, the American Defense Service Medal, the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and the World War II Victory Medal.