Riley Emerson Thomas was born on October 13, 1913 in Arkansas. He served in the 1348th AAF Base Unit as a Flight Officer and Co-Pilot of an aircraft during World War II. He was Killed in Action on April 9, 1945 at the age of 31 in the Pacific operations area and is now buried in the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii, USA. F/O 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.