Lost Heroes Of North Rose, New York Will Both Be Remembered For Final Missions
Memorial to be dedicated in apple country
It started with a great uncle I never got to meet. My grandmother’s brother, John Blakeslee Thomas, was lost in Operation Tidal Wave, the daring — and doomed — low-level attack on the Ploesti oilfields of Romania, known as Hitler’s gas station, in 1943. His remains were only identified in 2022 and he finally was laid to rest with his family in 2023. I told the story of his loss in this archived post.
This American Hero Is Finally Coming Home
Like millions of American men, John Thomas was eager to do his bit after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Like more than 400,000 of them, he never saw home again. His beloved sister Ruth mourned her brother to the end of her days. Decades after John’s death, his family still felt his abs…
Premium subscribers have full access to these archives. Here is the story of how Uncle John’s remains were identified and returned to North Rose, New York.
How This American Hero Finally Came Home
Before they shipped out to win the war, twin brothers John and George Thomas met their parents in Walla Walla, Washington to say goodbye. The boys were going separate ways, so they posed for one last photograph together. Only George, who served as an enlisted Marine in the Pacific, made it back …
This is my essay on all the Allied bombing campaigns against the Ploesti refineries. It is also available for premium subscribers. Perhaps you are seeing a pattern here.
Bombing Hitler's Gas Station: A Brief History
Winston Churchill called Ploesti “the taproot of German might” and Stalin was of similar mind. The decision in Washington to target Ploesti was therefore always political, a gift to allies who had been engaged with German armies well before American armies could arrive to make a difference. These politics were practical, however, for the strategic value of the target was obvious to everyone involved. Ploesti (pronounced
Here is the archived post on the homecoming ceremonies for Uncle John. That area of western New York is beautiful and filled with apple farms. Wayne County is an hour from Rochester, the nearest major city. The local people were amazing. An entire little town turned out for John’s funeral with flags and hands on hearts. I thought this trip was to be my last visit there, but I was wrong.
Bringing An American Hero Home
When he arrived at Hancock International Airport in Syracuse, New York earlier this month, 1st Lt. John Blakeslee Thomas received the traditional rite of every pilot on completing his very last flight. A pair of fire trucks arced sprays of water over the American Airlines jet bearing…
Because while I was in New York, I discovered that Uncle John had a classmate who was also a pilot. There were only sixteen students in the class of 1938, so they clearly knew one another, and ended up taking complementary roles in the fight. Even more amazing, when I dug into his unit history, I realized that Donald had been lost in an equally heroic mission to the one John flew, and that his family was probably never informed of the nature of his mission.
Operation Crossbow and the Mysterious Final Flight of Lt. Melvin Donald Putnam
This post will be locked for two weeks from publication.
Working with a local artist, Mark DeCracker, I was able to learn more about Melvin Donald Putnam’s journey home. We are still trying to locate any living relatives. I will join Mark in that search next week when I fly up to present this amazing true story to the Wayne County Historical Society, which is about to dedicate a mural to the memory of both men.
How This American Hero Came Home: The Story Of A Tiny Town That Lost Two Too Many
Two weeks ago, I wrote about a World War II pilot who graduated in the same 16-member high school class as my uncle. Both men were killed in combat with German forces. That article is now unlocked. In the meantime, I have learned a bit more about Donald, as my uncle Blake knew him, thanks to local artist Mark DeCracker.
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Memorializing Two Hero Pilots From One Tiny Town in New York State, Both Lost in WWII
Just sixteen students graduated from North Rose, New York in 1938. Two of them, John Blakeslee Thomas and Melvin Donald Putnam, became pilots in the US Army Air Corps. Thomas flew a B-24 Liberator bomber, Putnam a P-47 Thunderbolt fighter. Although they died more than 1,500 miles and 18 months apart, both men were k…
Mark asked me to write the text of the memorial plaques that will go on the mural. This was a solemn responsibility and I cannot wait to see the finished memorial next week. I hope there will be enough material when I come home to write a book. Please consider supporting this endeavor with a premium subscription that allows you full access to these archives.
A Memoriam Duplex For North Rose, New York
It is my honor and privilege to offer these words to the Rose Historical Society to be inscribed in memory of two sons of North Rose lost in acts of heroism during the Second World War.