THOMAS, JAMES CALVEN

Name: James Calven Thomas
Rank/Branch: Staff Sergeant/USMC
Unit:
Date of Birth: 27 October 1947
Home City of Record: Safford AZ
Loss Date: 03 April 1968
Country of Loss: South Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 155400N 1081000E
Status (in 1973): Missing In Action
Category: 2
Acft/Vehicle/Ground: Ground
Refno: 1115

Source: Compiled from one or more of the following: raw data from U.S.
Government agency sources, correspondence with POW/MIA families,
published sources, interviews. Updated by the P.O.W. NETWORK in 1998.

Other Personnel in Incident: (none missing)

SYNOPSIS:  The fate of James C. Thomas has always been a mystery.  He was on
a 45 man patrol when his fellow Marines discovered he was missing.  The
patrol had stopped to rest before reaching their destination.  As they
rested, they noted two Vietnamese boys along the road, begging.

The patrol moved on, and when they reached their destination, a head count
showed Thomas missing.  Returning to the spot where they had rested, Thomas'
helmet, pack and canteen were found, but Thomas was nowhere to be seen.  No
solid infomation has surfaced on him since.  His last known location was in
Quang Nam Province near An Hoa.

When the last American troops left Southeast Asia in 1975, some 2500
Americans were unaccounted for.  Reports received by the U.S. Government
since that time build a strong case for belief that hundreds of these
"unaccounted for" Americans are still alive and in captivity.

"Unaccounted for" is a term that should apply to numbers, not men.  We, as a
nation owe these men our best effort to find them and bring them home.
Until the fates of the men like Thomas are known, their families will wonder
if they are dead or alive ... and why they were deserted.