Thomas Holmes
Army
West Yaphank

Thomas Holmes on left, Edmour Gagnon on right.
Thomas Holmes was
born on Dec. 20th, 1925. he was the son of Richard and
Gertrude Holmes. He attended school in West Yaphank for 8 years and
later attended Port Jefferson High School. Before entering the
service he was working for the Grumman aircraft Company at Bethpage.
He was inducted into the Army on March 25th , 1944 and
sent to Camp Upton, New York. As a PFC he was assigned to company E
of the 387th Infantry of the 97th Infantry
Division. Holmes left the United States on March 18, 1945 and
arrived at La Harve France. He was involved in the engagements in
the Ruhr Pocket, later in Southern Germany and then in
Czechoslovakia. In June of 1945 the unit left France and returned to
the United States. From Seattle, Washington he sailed for Japan
where he was part of the occupation forces in Japan for 8 months.
Arriving back in Seattle on April 23, 1946 Holmes was sent to Fort
Dix where he was discharged on May 16, 1946. For their service in
Europe his unit received two Bronze Battle Stars.