Rank: Specialist 4
Unit: Headquarters & Headquarters Troop, 2nd Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment
MOS: 91B – Medical Specialist
Awards: Distinguished Service Cross, Purple Heart Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal
Badges: Combat Medical Badge
Unit awards: Vietnamese Gallantry Cross with Palm device
Note: Medic attached to G Troop, 2/11 ACR
Enlisted by: Selected Service
Date of birth: 11-Jan-1947
Hometown: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Marital status: Never Married
Campaign: Vietnam Conflict
Entered service: 15-Aug-1966
Start of tour: 13-Feb-1967
Incident date: 24-Sep-1967
Date of casualty: 24-Sep-1967
Age at death: 20
Cause of death: Hostile, died. Small Arms Fire. Gun or small arms fire.
Joe Minor Thomas died as a result of gunshot wound received when his unit engaged hostile force in firefight while on combat operation.
Three Blackhorse troopers died in this incident:
PFC Lawrence Bernard Crawford
PFC Erral Dale Smallwood
SP4 Joe Minor Thomas
Location of fatality: Quang Nam, South Vietnam
Place of interment: Crown Hill Cemetery, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
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DISTINGUISHED SERVICE CROSS
POSTHUMOUS
SPECIALIST FOUR JOE MINOR THOMAS
24 SEPTEMBER 1967
HEADQUARTERS AND HEADQUARTERS TROOP, 2nd SQUADRON
11TH ARMORED CAVALRY REGIMENT
Specialist Four Thomas distinguished himself by extraordinary heroism in action in connection with military operations involving conflict with an armed hostile force in the Republic of Vietnam, while serving with Headquarters and Headquarters Troop, 2d Squadron, 11th Armored Cavalry Regiment. Specialist Four Thomas distinguished himself by exceptionally valorous actions on 24 September 1967 while serving as medic of an armored cavalry platoon on a combat mission deep in hostile territory. While moving along rice fields in search of hostile elements, his platoon was savagely attacked by a Viet Cog force firing automatic weapons from well fortified positions. He saw three comrades wounded by the intense barrage and sprinted three hundred meters across an open rice paddy under a hail of fire to aid them. With bullets striking all around him, he remained in the open to treat the casualties and move them to safety. He detected the Viet Cong emplacement and fired furiously into the attackers. Completely disregarding his own safety, he stood up in the midst of the firefight and fearlessly assaulted the enemy bunker alone. Firing lethal bursts as he ran into the face of the enemy weapons, he reached the fortifications and destroyed them with grenades and rifle fire, killing three enemy soldiers. He was mortally wounded while gallantly defending his comrades in the face of grave danger. His fearless actions completely defeated the determined insurgents and enabled his men to successfully complete their mission. Specialist Four Thomas’ extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty, at the cost of his life, were in keeping with the highest traditions of the military service and reflect great credit upon himself, his unit, and the United States Army.
Headquarters, United States Army Vietnam General Orders No. 6017 (21 November 1967)