Thomas James French was born on June 28, 1911 in Paris, Henry County, Tennessee. He was the son of John Thomas French and Eula French French. He resided in Los Angeles County, California prior to the war. He enlisted in the Army on April 4, 1942 in Los Angeles, California. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed in construction and also as Divorced, without dependents. Thomas served as a Sergeant and Crew Chief on C-46A #42-107331, 1328th Army Air Force Base Unit, U.S. Army Air Force during World War II.

The 1328th Army Air Force Base Unit was stationed in Misamari, India under the Assam Wing of the India-China Division of the Air Transport Command. The were tasked with flying ammunition and fuel over the Himalayans, for delivery in China. On one of these missions C-46A #42-107331 was lost, it was July 14, 1945. Having actually gone "Missing" on the above date, he was not officially declared by the military as being dead until July 15, 1946 after he went missing as was the custom. His name is commemorated on the Walls of the Missing, Manila American Cemetery, Taguig City, Philippines.

Thomas was one of over 2000 Americans who lost their lives defending China from their Japanese invaders from 1941-1945. He is commemorated on the The Monument to the Aviation Martyrs in the War of Resistance Against Japan in Nanjing, China.

Source of information: www.findagrave.com, www.abmc.gov