Tech5 Thomas Stanley Offutt Jr.

courtesy of CRB

Tech5 Thomas Stanley Offutt Jr. was born 27 May 1918 in Ragtown, Oklahoma. He was the 2nd of 2 children and only son of Thomas Stanley and Mabel (Monroe) Offutt. His mother died in 1919 and Thomas and his sister were sent to live with his paternal grandparents William Porter and Beulah Pearson of Enid, Oklahoma. Thomas Stanley senior had apparently been orphaned in early childhood and raised by the Pearsons. Although Thomas's father re-married in 1922, the children continued to live with their adoptive grandparents. In 1930 William Pearson was working on railroad cars for the railroad. Sometime before 1940, Beulah would die as well and Thomas enlisted in the U.S. Army. Thomas was living in Hobbs, New Mexico in 1935.

When the 1940 census was taken in Fort Francis E. Warren Military Reservation in Laramie County, Wyoming, Thomas was serving as a PVT reporting an income for 1939 (source not known but probably Army pay) of $360. Sometime in 1941, Thomas received permission to marry and married Lelia Elzoria McCartney who was working as a maid in nearby Cheyenne, Wyoming. The couple would live at 210 West 9th Street in Cheyenne. while Thomas was serving as a fireman on post. Sometime after that he was sent to E Company 801st Signal Service Regiment at Camp Murphy, Florida where he served in or trained for a signal corps military occupation specialty (MOS) and attained the rank of Tech5. It was probably because of that MOS that he was then sent to England and assigned to Headquarters 116th Infantry in time to participate in the amphibious assault that would take place at the Normandy, France beach code-named "Omaha". There were 2 boats, LCVP, that transported the Headquarters to the beach. On the morning of 6 Jun 1944 one of those was destroyed by artillery fire and all aboard were killed, including then PVT Offutt.

Tech5 Offutt was repatriated and re-interred in Greenwood Cemetery in Teague, Texas.

PVT Offutt was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star but we know nothing of the circumstances surrounding the award. Further, we are referring to him here as a Tech5 but in accordance with the regulations of the time he was likely reduced in grade when assigned to Headquarters 116th Infantry so that he was not "over grade" for his duty position which was likely a radioman for the command element. It should be noted that his rank in the morning report is given as PVT and on his headstone application it is given as PFC with a note that he'd held the rank of Tech5 while assigned to E Company 801st Signal. His rank is also given as PVT on the press release noting his award of the Bronze Star. His headstone notes that he was from Wyoming because he was in that state when he first re-enlisted at the beginning of the war even though he was born in Oklahoma.

Lelia would remarry and have 3 children.