| Residences | Civilian Occupation |
| Maryland, Delaware, Virginia | Stenographer and draftsman for Hercules Powder Company |
| Branch | Service Number |
| U.S. Naval Reserve | 7225922 |
| Theater | Assignment |
| Pacific | Spare Parts Distribution Center, Naval Supply Depot, Naval Base Noumea |
Early Life & Family
Thomas Lankford was born on December 13, 1922, probably in Williamsburg on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. He was the son of Claude Levering Lankford (1895–1976) and Blanche M. Lankford (née Blanch E. Meredith, 1901–1995). Various census records over the years describe his father—who served in the U.S. Army during World War I—as a farmhand, produce truck driver, and carpenter. Lankford had an older sister, Elizabeth Lankford (later Elizabeth Lankford Parker, 1920–2005). The Lankford family was recorded on the census on April 3, 1930, living on Morris Avenue in Federalsburg, Maryland.
The Denton Journal provides a few glimpses into Lankford’s life while he was attending Caroline High School. The paper reported on November 14, 1936, that Lankford had made the honor roll for the first term. Another article on April 30, 1937, stated that at 37 words per minute, Lankford was the fastest typist in his class, though with five errors he was tied for most mistakes! An article on April 16, 1938, reported that two members of the graduating class referenced him in their class will, with Chester Seese bequeathing him “my ability to get in trouble” and Ella Mae Wright bequeathing “to Jen Ann Deen, my authority over Thomas Lankford.” Later that year, on December 10, 1938, the Denton Journal mentioned brief talks that the senior class had delivered: “Thomas Lankford talked about ‘Marihuana’. Both the uses and the injurious effects were brought out.”
Lankford’s typing skill improved dramatically during his senior year, with the Denton Journal noting that in a test on May 23, 1939, he had both the fastest speed in his class, 54 words per minute, and the fewest errors, three. He also acted in the senior class play, a comedy known as “Mountain Mumps.”
Lankford was no longer living with his family by the time of the 1940 census and he was not recorded on any indexed census record. At the time, he may have been attending Beacom College in Wilmington, Delaware. The Denton Journal reported that “After his graduation at Caroline High School in Denton in 1939, Thos. Lankford matriculated at Beacom College, in Wilmington, and at the completion of a business course associated himself with the Hercules Powder Company[.]” Likewise, an advertisement for Beacom College that was printed in Journal-Every Evening on January 13, 1941, stated that among “78 Beacom students who have accepted positions DURING THE LAST 60 DAYS” were Thomas Lankford at the Hercules Powder Company. The Wilmington Morning News stated that:
Lankford, who was employed by the Hercules Powder Company in January, 1941, following his graduation from Beacom Business College, worked at the Radford, Va. plant in the engineering department, until transferred to the office in Wilmington in August of that year.
According to his personnel file, Lankford was a stenographer and draftsman before entering the military, while the Denton Journal described him as a “secretary and apprentice draftsman in the Engineering Department” at Hercules.
When he registered for the draft on June 30, 1942, Lankford was living at 1009 Madison Street in Wilmington and working for the Hercules Powder Company at 900 Market Street in Wilmington. He moved to 916 Madison Street prior to entering the service. Curiously, the registrar described him as standing about six feet, two inches tall, over four inches taller than his military records.
Lankford’s personnel file described him as standing five feet, 9½ inches tall and weighing 175 lbs., with brown hair and blue eyes. Lankford’s father told the Navy that:
He contributed to the upkeep of our home with money for rent, and for our medical needs as well as working on the place to help keep the expense of operating a small farm & chicken ranch within a range of profit in addition to other incidental needs[.]
Military Career
Lankford volunteered for the U.S. Navy about a year after the attack on Pearl Harbor. On December 1, 1942, he was accepted as a yeoman 3rd class in the U.S. Naval Reserve for a two-year term at the Navy Recruiting Station, Wilmington, Delaware. He was initially placed on inactive duty until December 8, 1942, when he reported for boot camp at the U.S. Naval Training Station, Newport, Rhode Island.
As was customary, Lankford went on leave after completing boot camp, during February 3–10, 1943. Journal-Every Evening reported that during his recruit leave, Lankford “visited his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Claude R. [sic] Lankford of Federalsburg, Md., and friends in Wilmington, before reporting to his new assignment in the Navy Yard at Washington, D. C.”
On February 11, 1943, Yeoman 3rd Class Lankford began his assignment at the Bureau of Ships in Washington, D.C. A letter from the office of the Chief of the Bureau of Ships A. K. Ledig dated October 15, 1943, stated of Yeoman 3rd Class Lankford:
Subject man has been employed in technical sections of the Bureau where he has becoming extremely familiar with the logistics program of the Bureau in regard to internal combustion engine and other spare parts. […]
It is planned to re-rate subject man at Mechanicsburg as a Storekeeper upon his successful completion of necessary training and examination.
As of October 26, 1943, Lankford and several other yeomen’s duties were assumed by enlisted women (W.A.V.E.S.). His personnel file noted that on November 1, 1943, Lankford “Transferred to the Commanding Officer, Naval Supply Depot, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, for logistics training and for further assignment.” He was able to take leave during December 23–27, 1943, and visit his family in Federalsburg over Christmas.
On December 1, 1943, Lankford’s rating changed to storekeeper 3rd class, and to storekeeper, technical, 3rd class effective January 1, 1944. These were lateral changes and represented neither promotions nor demotions. On January 13, 1944, he was dispatched to San Francisco, California, for further duty at the Naval Supply Depot at Nouméa, New Caledonia. He reported at Shoemaker, California, on January 17, 1944. Lankford shipped out for the Pacific on or about February 2, 1944, arriving at Nouméa on February 26, 1944. Nouméa was one of the U.S. Navy’s most important advance bases in the South Pacific. On April 5, 1944, he transferred to the N.S.D.’s Spare Parts Distribution Center.
On May 14, 1944, Lankford joined a fishing trip while on liberty. He boarded a small rearming boat, SB R-15, with seven other men. The boat sailed into the Boulari passage, the route ships took to pass safely through the New Caledonian barrier reef to Nouméa. According to a summary of facts in his personnel file, the boat was “approximately three- quarters of a mile southeast from the northwest point of Tumbo Reef [when] a wave broke over the rearming boat, capsizing it, throwing all the members of the party into the water.”
Half the men managed to swim to the reef, but the other four drowned, including Lankford. On May 20, 1944, Journal-Every Evening reported that Lankford was missing. The four victims’ bodies were not recovered, but Captain H. A. Sailor at the Office of the Judge Advocate General concluded on July 4, 1944, that “the circumstances attendant upon their disappearance at sea in this case justify a conclusion that they are dead.” He also concluded that since “all the aforesaid members of the party were on authorized liberty” that all the deaths “occurred in the line of duty and was not due to the result of their own misconduct.”
Commander L. Lockwood, officer in charge of the Spare Parts Distribution Center at Nouméa, wrote Lankford’s parents on June 3, 1944:
I was much impressed with his seriousness of purpose, his general efficiency and his very obvious desire to do his part in the war. It will also interest you to know that just prior to his being lost, Tom had been recommended for promotion to the next higher rating as a well deserved reward for the excellent work which he had been doing.
Lankford is honored on a cenotaph and on his parents’ headstone at Hillcrest Cemetery in Federalsburg, and at the Courts of the Missing at the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific in Hawaii. Although Lankford’s military career was covered in Delaware newspapers, he is among the Delawareans whose names are omitted from the World War II memorial at Veterans Memorial Park in New Castle, Delaware. One explanation is that the Navy’s casualty books listed casualties based on the residence of their next of kin rather than where they entered the service.
Occupants of SB R-15 on May 14, 1944
The following list was adopted from Lankford’s personnel file and includes position, and status (died non-battle or returned to duty). The list corrects Davis’s first name, listed as Glen in the file.
Lieutenant Commander Charles H. Lawler (passenger) – D.N.B.
Lieutenant Commander Donald G. Henderson (passenger) – R.T.D.
Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Clarence R. Dolan (passenger) – D.N.B.
Storekeeper, Technical, 2nd Class Glenn F. Davis (passenger) – D.N.B.
Storekeeper, Technical, 3rd Class Thomas Lankford (passenger) – D.N.B.
Storekeeper, Technical, 3rd Class William O’Hare (passenger) – R.T.D.
Coxswain Franklin J. Nelson (crew) – R.T.D.
Motor Machinist’s Mate 2nd Class Philander E. Jerome (crew) – R.T.D.
Notes
Place of Birth
Lankford’s personnel file gives his place of birth as Williamsburg, Maryland, while his draft card lists Federalsburg, Maryland. Those two towns are in different counties, but they are only about four miles apart. Williamsburg is most likely correct since his personnel file included a section in which a Navy recruiter certified that Thomas Lankford had been born on December 13, 1922, in Williamsburg, Maryland, as verified by the Bureau of Vital Statistics, Department of Health, State of Maryland.
Middle Name
Lankford served in the Navy under the name Thomas Lankford. No middle name was listed in census records or on his draft card, either. Curiously, his name is listed as Thomas L. Lankford on his parents’ headstone.
Education
Contradictions are common in accounts about World War II servicemen’s educations. According to his personnel file, the highest level of education that Lankford completed was the 11th grade. However, abundant newspaper articles establish that he graduated from Caroline High School and attended Beacom College. Since he only attended for two years, he presumably earned an associate degree if he graduated.
Ship Out Date
According to Lankford’s personnel file, effective January 31, 1944, he was transferred from Shoemaker to Nouméa. It does not reveal the vessel he traveled on nor the exact date that he shipped out. Newspaper articles stated that Lankford went overseas on February 2, 1944.
Bibliography
“6 From Delaware on Casualty List.” Wilmington Morning News, July 18, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/article/133812608/
Applications for Headstones and Markers, July 1, 1970–September 30, 1985. Record Group 15, Records of the Department of Veterans Affairs. National Archives at St. Louis, Missouri. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2375/images/2375_02_01056-02523
Boats of the United States Navy. Department of the Navy, Navy Ship Systems Command, Washington, D.C., 1967. https://maritime.org/doc/boatcat/index.php#toc
“Curtain Rises Tonight On Denton Senior Play.” Wilmington Morning News, March 24, 1939. https://www.newspapers.com/article/133827478/
“Delawareans in the Service On Sea On Land And In the Air.” Journal-Every Evening, February 20, 1943. https://www.newspapers.com/article/133811027/
“Demand for Beacom Graduates Is Greatest in Years.” Journal-Every Evening, January 13, 1941. https://www.newspapers.com/article/133815550/
“Dies In Action.” Denton Journal, September 15, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/article/denton-journal-skt3c-lankford-obit/133821046/
“Federalsburg Sailor Reported Missing in Action.” Journal-Every Evening, May 20, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/article/133821139/
Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Record Group 29, Records of the Bureau of the Census. National Archives at Washington, D.C. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/6224/images/4606968_01019
“Honor Roll For First Term.” Denton Journal, November 14, 1936. https://www.newspapers.com/article/denton-journal-lankford-honor/133827826/
Official Military Personnel File for Thomas Lankford. Official Military Personnel Files, 1885–1998. Record Group 24, Records of the Bureau of Naval Personnel. National Archives at St. Louis, Missouri.
“Senior Class Will.” Denton Journal, April 16, 1938. https://www.newspapers.com/article/denton-journal-lankford-school-humor/133827809/
“Senior Tidbits.” Denton Journal, December 10, 1938. https://www.newspapers.com/article/denton-journal-lankford-talks-marijuana/133827614/
“Six on Casualty List from State.” Wilmington Morning News, July 22, 1944. Pg. 2. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/103204522/mario-capano-dow/
Sixteenth Census of the United States, 1940. Record Group 29, Records of the Bureau of the Census. National Archives at Washington, D.C. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2442/images/M-T0627-01543-00486
“Thomas L Lankford.” Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/20423313/thomas-l-lankford
“Thomas Lankford Reported Missing.” Denton Journal, May 26, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/article/denton-journal-lankford-missing/133821498/
“Typewriting Speed Test, May 23rd.” Denton Journal, May 27, 1939. https://www.newspapers.com/article/denton-journal-thomas-lankford-typing/133830169/
“Typing Tests, Week Ending April 22, 1938.” Denton Journal, April 30, 1937. https://www.newspapers.com/article/denton-journal-lankford-typist/133827584/
WWII Draft Registration Cards for Delaware, 10/16/1940–3/31/1947. Record Group 147, Records of the Selective Service System. National Archives at St. Louis, Missouri. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/2238/images/44003_08_00004-01814
Last updated on October 26, 2023
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