This online exhibition contains images from a more extensive exhibit that was displayed on December 7, 2001 for the Rio Grande Historical Collections (RGHC) Annual Meeting. Materials for the exhibition have been donated by Dr. Gerald Thomas, President Emeritus of New Mexico State University and the guiding hand in the foundation of the RGHC.
Dr. Gerald W. Thomas was one of the pilots of Torpedo Squadron Four.
Forty-one months of active duty with the Navy during World War II earned him
three DFCs, two Air Medals, two Presidential Citations, as well as combat
ribbons in both the Atlantic and the Pacific Theaters of War. Flying from
three aircraft carriers, Lt (jg) Thomas survived several plane crashes and one
splash-down in the South China Sea.
After World War II, Thomas was employed by the U.S. Conservation Service in Idaho. He returned to graduate school at Texas A&M in 1950 under the GI Bill. He held teaching and research positions at Texas A&M, was Dean of Agriculture at Texas Tech, and was President of New Mexico State University.
For more information about Torpedo Squadron Four, please visit Dr. Thomas' web site at http://www.Airgroup4.com/
