Click On Image For Full Size Image	Size	Image Description		Contributed By And/Or Copyright
0610201	59k	Clarence Crase Thomas was born on 26 December 1886 in Grass Valley, California. He was appointed midshipman on 07 July 1904 and graduated from the United States Naval Academy on 05 June 1908. After service in armored cruiser Maryland and gunboat Yorktown, he was commissioned ensign on 29 June 1910. In the next few years, Thomas served in Denver, Cleveland, and West Virginia. Appointed lieutenant (jg.) on 26 June 1913, he was detached from West Virginia in the summer of 1914 to attend a post-graduate course in steam engineering at the Naval Academy. He attended Columbia University in late 1915 and, on 24 June 1916, reported on board Florida as her electrical officer. Thomas was promoted to lieutenant on 08 January 1917 and, about a fortnight after the United States entered World War I, was placed in charge of the naval armed guard on the merchant steamship SS Vacuum in April. On the 28th, when a lookout reported sighting a German submarine, some 120 miles west of the Hebrides Islands, Lt. Thomas went to the ship's after gun. A few moments later, a torpedo from U-21 struck Vacuum, and exploded, throwing Thomas and the gun's crew into the water. The ship sank within two minutes. Picked up by a boat, Thomas soon died of cold and exposure. He was the first United States naval officer to lose his life in the war with Germany and was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross "for distinguished service in the line of his profession as commander of the armed guard crew of Vacuum. USS Thomas (DE 102) (1943-1947) was the first ship to be named in his honor. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Naval Academy)		Bill Gonyo Downey, Cal. Assoc. Researcher Navsource
0610215	446k	07 December 1943: Portsmouth, Va. - A starboard quarter view of Thomas taken near the Norfolk Navy Yard. (U.S. Navy photo #CP-DE-102-19-N-60229 from the National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, Md.; courtesy of  Chris Wright)		Ed Zajkowski Narvon, Pa.
0610216	244k	05 July 1944: the Atlantic Ocean - USS Thomas (DE 102) is shown from the starboard bow wearing modified 32/3D, in a photo taken from escort carrier USS Card (CVE -11). Thomas has ocean gray painted on the superstructure, but may not have any on the hull. Later in the day that this photo was taken, at 1946 hours Thomas rammed and sank U-233. (U.S. Navy, National Archives photo, Catalog No. 80-G-366262, courtesy of C. Lee Johnson, at USN Dazzle).		Mike Green Port Angeles, Wash.
0610202	99k	Painting of USS Thomas, depicting the ramming of U-233 on 05 July 1944. This painting was done for Mr. Buring.		Bob Buring All Photos this series © Robert M. Buring
0610203	104k	05 July 1944: Photo taken just an "instant" before ramming U-233. Notice bow of Thomas at bottom of photo.
0610204	75k	05 July 1944 : picking up survivors from U-233
0610205	97k	08 July 1944: Boston, Mass. - Photo showing damage to the bow of Thomas after ramming of U-233. Taken in a Boston Navy Yard drydock.
0610206	56k	Trip to Iceland, February 1945.
0610207	92k	1944 or 45: in the North Atlantic - Thomas preparing to go along side USS Croatan (CVE 25) for a mail pass.
0610208	75k	Thomas pulling away from USS Croatan after mail pass.
0610209	58k	1945: the North Atlantic - Thomas conducting depth charge attack.
0610210	36k	11 June 1945: Capt. Dave Kellogg, Commanding Officer USS Thomas
0610211	45k	undated
0610212	76k	11 November 1945: Port Arthur, Texas - After WWII Thomas escorted the captured German Sub U-530 on Victory Bond Tours.
0610214	51k	circa 1946: A photo of USS Thomas (DE 102) tied up pierside. The photograph was likely taken at Green Cove Springs, Florida. (Photograph by Ensign Carl Gene Coin, USN, Chief Petty Officer aboard Thomas during its' last year of service and decommissioning.)		Bob Hurst Worksop, Nottinghamshire, England, United Kingdom
0610213	51k	ROCS Tai Ho (F-23) underway, date / location unknown

Contact information is compiled from various sources over a period of time and may, or may not, be correct. Every effort has been
made to list the newest contact. However, our entry is only as good as the latest information that's been sent to us. We list only
a contact for the ship if one has been sent to us. We do NOT have crew lists, rosters, or deck logs available. Please see the
Frequently Asked Questions section on NavSource's Main Page for that information.

Additional Resources

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DE-102 USS Thomas Crew Photos
Tin Can Sailors
The U.S. Navy Memorial
The Destroyer Escort Historical Museum
The Destroyer History Foundation

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This Page Created And Maintained By Mike Smolinski by Paul R. Yarnall, All Rights Reserved. Page Last Updated: 29 November 2023