| Residences | Civilian Occupation |
| Pennsylvania, Delaware | Mover, laborer, or routeman |
| Branch | Service Number |
| U.S. Army | 32367502 |
| Theater | Unit |
| Zone of Interior (American) | Medical Detachment, 999th Field Artillery Battalion |
| Military Occupational Specialty | Entered the Service From |
| 657 (medical aidman) | Wilmington, Delaware |
Early Life & Family
Roy Spencer Thomas was born in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, on March 5, 1921. He was the son of Roland Thomas and Lydia Blackson or Blackstone. Like many other black servicemen from Delaware who lost their lives in World War II, very little is clear about his early life. Thomas’s draft card listed his place of birth as Chester, while his wife’s statement gave his place of birth as slightly west of there, in Twin Oaks, Upper Chichester Township.
It is unclear if Thomas was ever recorded on any census records. The 1930 census listed Elwood and Lydia Blackstone living in Twin Oaks Village, Upper Chichester, with their two children, nine-year-old Roy and five-year-old Rachel. There does not appear to be any sign of a Roy Blackstone of that age and location in other records, suggesting the child may be Roy Thomas.
When he registered for the draft on February 16, 1942, Thomas was unemployed and living with his mother at 217 West 3rd Street in Wilmington. The registrar described him as standing five feet, 10 inches tall and weighing 204 lbs., with black hair and brown eyes.
Thomas’s enlistment data card described him as a semiskilled routeman with a grammar school education. His wife’s statement described his occupation as mover, while his death certificate described him as a laborer.
Military Career
After Thomas was drafted, he joined the U.S. Army in Camden, New Jersey, on October 22, 1942. He went on active duty on November 5, 1942, almost certainly at Fort Dix, New Jersey. A roster indicates that in December 1942, he joined the Medical Detachment, 578th Field Artillery Regiment. It was a segregated unit with black enlisted men and white officers.
Private Thomas went absent without leave (A.W.O.L.) in late December 1942. A payroll record listing it is difficult to read to read but appears to give the dates of absence as December 25, 1942, to January 3 or 5, 1943.
The 578th Field Artillery was broken up February 1943 at Fort Bragg and its 2nd Battalion became the 999th Field Artillery Battalion. In turn, Private Thomas transferred to the Medical Detachment, 999th Field Artillery Battalion. The initial roster, dated March 1, 1943, listed his duty and military occupational specialty (M.O.S.) code of 657, medical aidman.
Private Thomas went A.W.O.L. again on May 5, 1943. According to her statement, Private Thomas married Anna E. Clifton in Wilmington, the following day. Thomas returned to duty on May 25, 1943. He went A.W.O.L. again on July 6, 1943, returning to duty on July 8.
Private Thomas began an 11-day furlough on August 12, 1943. He did not return to Fort Bragg and was marked A.W.O.L. at 0630 hours on August 24, 1943. While Thomas remained at large, the 999th Field Artillery Battalion moved to A.P. Hill Military Reservation, Virginia. At 1540 hours on October 30, 1943, Private Thomas was placed in confinement at Fort DuPont, Delaware, after he was apprehended or turned himself in. Per Special Orders No. 261, Headquarters A.P. Hill Military Reservation, dated November 4, 1943, Sergeant Oscar A. Bell from Headquarters Battery, 999th Field Artillery Battalion was dispatched under arms to Fort DuPont to retrieve Private Thomas. The orders noted: “The entire cost of transportation and subsistence furnished guard and prisoner will be charged against prisoner on the next payroll of his organization in accordance with par 23 b, AR 55-120.”
Private Thomas was released from confinement at Fort DuPont at 1130 hours on November 9, 1943. The following day, he was placed in the 999th Field Artillery Battalion stockade. There is no mention of his release from the stockade in detachment morning reports through March 1944.
The 999th Field Artillery Battalion departed A.P. Hill by train for the Tennessee Maneuver Area on November 13, 1943, arriving two days later. On January 19, 1944, the battalion began moving to Camp Butner, North Carolina, arriving the following day.
On the morning of March 6, 1944, the day after his 23rd birthday, Private Thomas suffered fatal skull fractures when he fell from a truck near the intersection of 22nd and C Streets at Camp Butner, North Carolina. He was pronounced dead at 1110 hours. An investigation determined the accident occurred in the line of duty.
Following services at Edward R. Bell’s funeral home at 909 Poplar Street in Wilmington on March 10, 1943, Private Thomas was buried at Mount Olive Cemetery. The 999th Field Artillery Battalion went overseas in June 1944 and fought in the European Theater.
Notes
Work House
An annotation to his draft card dated May 10, 1943, stated that Thomas would be “In workhouse for 2 mos[.]” However, that date cannot be accurate since Thomas was already in the military by then. If it was added to the correct card, the event must have happened in 1942.
Bibliography
“Battalion Unit History.” December 7, 1944. World War II Operations Reports, 1940–48. Record Group 407, Records of the Adjutant General’s Office. National Archives at College Park, Maryland.
Census Record for Roy Blackstone. April 17, 1930. 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/4639364_00591
Certificate of Death for Roy S. Thomas. North Carolina Death Certificates. North Carolina State Archives, Raleigh, North Carolina. https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/1121/images/S123_1271-2033
“Death Notices.” Journal-Every Evening, March 9, 1944. https://www.newspapers.com/clip/121629993/roy-s-thomas-obit/
Draft Registration Card for Roy Spencer Thomas. February 16, 1942. Draft Registration Cards for Delaware, October 16, 1940 – March 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_09_00010-00300
Enlistment Record for Roy S. Thomas. October 22, 1942. World War II Army Enlistment Records. Record Group 64, Records of the National Archives and Records Administration. National Archives at College Park, Maryland. https://aad.archives.gov/aad/record-detail.jsp?dt=893&mtch=1&cat=all&tf=F&q=32367502&bc=&rpp=10&pg=1&rid=2990139
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Stanton, Shelby L. World War II Order of Battle: An Encyclopedic Reference to U.S. Army Ground Forces from Battalion through Division 1939–1946. Revised ed. Stackpole Books, 2006.
Thomas, Anna E. Individual Military Service Record for Roy S. Thomas. August 12, 1949. Record Group 1325-003-053, Record of Delawareans Who Died in World War II. Delaware Public Archives, Dover, Delaware. https://cdm16397.contentdm.oclc.org/digital/collection/p15323coll6/id/21132/rec/1
Last updated on February 5, 2025
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