Before enrolling at the San Diego State College, Tom Rice was present at Pearl Harbor during the attacks of 1941, this motivated him to enlist in the elite airborne parachute school.
Thomas was accepted and trained with the U.S. Airborne Jump School pioneers at Camp Toccoa, Georgia. Tom later earned the coveted paratrooper wings through his determination and perseverance at Fort Benning.
Tom then entered the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division together with people like Vincent Speranza and Colonel Howard R. Johnson, this brought him to serve as a platoon sergeant and command 12 paratroopers until he jumped on June 6, 1944, over Normandy for Operation Overlord and Operation Market Garden.
Tom was injured even before he reached the ground, but regardless of his injuries, he fought for a total of 336 days in the Battle of Bastogne and the Battle of the Bulge, conquering of Berchtesgaden at the takeover of the Kehlsteinhaus. He was injured a total of 4 times during the time he spent in the battlefield.
Follow us:
📧 [email protected]
🌐https://www.walkamongheroes.org/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/walkamongheroes/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/walkamongheroes
Tik Tok: https://www.tiktok.com/@walkamongheroes
#omahabeach #dday #wwii #history #war #veterans #normandy #france
#travel #adventure #education #heritage #memorial #tomRice #WWIIVeteran #101stAirborneDivisionParatrooper
source
Thank you! Thank all of you! May God's blessings be upon you!
Thank you for the service Mr Rice!! Lest we forget !!!
If I may ask, how old was Mr.Tom Rice at the time of the interview? Thank you, appreciate.
Talking to him I'd be soaking it up like a sponge going through the mud and the blood The stories you can tell priceless