In the early hours of D-Day, June 6, 1944, 22-year-old Staff Sergeant Thomas Rice jumped into Normandy as part of Operation Overlord, the largest and most complex military campaign ever undertaken. Rice remembered the hours before parachuting into France:
On the night of June 5, 1944, as we boarded the planes that would take us into battle, IÂ’m not sure we realized the full extent of the dangers and difficulties we faced, or if we thought about the hundreds of thousands of other men who faced similar or even worse ordeals, but if we had known all this, it would have made no difference to us. We were ready and almost eager to go into action and get the whole bloody thing over with.
Shortly after midnight, in dreadful weather, Rice and thousands of other “Screaming Eagles” of the 101st Airborne division parachuted into the night sky and down upon the Germans. As his plane took heavy anti-aircraft fire, the pilot maneuvered to evade fire and, flying too fast and low for jumping, and caused Rice to get hung up in the plane’s doorway. Rice ultimately landed near Utah Beach – close to heavily armed Germans and miles from his intended drop zone. He joined about 50 other Americans, and they battled in Normandy for over a month, sheltering in foxholes, living on scant supplies, and capturing hundreds of German soldiers.
Coronado native Thomas M. Rice was born on August 15, 1921, to a naval aviation family, Marcus and Katherine Rice. The 600 square-foot home his father built on H Avenue still stands. During RiceÂ’s youth, his father was killed during a military air crash in the Panama Canal Zone in 1934. Rice graduated from Coronado High School in 1940 and was attending San Diego State when he enlisted in the U.S. Army at Fort Rosecrans, California on November 17, 1942. He entered basic training at Camp Toccoa, Georgia, and completed paratrooper jump school at Fort Benning, Georgia, in 1943. After training for a total of eighteen months, he became a member of the newly formed 501st Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. While serving with the 101st Airborne Division, Rice led a squad of twelve soldiers and acted as platoon sergeant for six months.
During the Normandy campaign, a pivotal event in the liberation of Europe, Rice was wounded by shrapnel and by a sniper’s bullet that struck his left knee. He credits the success in Normandy to a “complex blend of physical and mental combat teamwork.” Rice also made a combat jump into Holland during Operation Market Garden (September 1944) and the Battle of the Bulge (December 1944 to January 1945). He was severely wounded at Bastogne during the Battle of the Bulge when a bullet blasted his left leg above the knee and other bullets tore a four-inch piece from the radial just below his right elbow. His final World War II combat experience occurred in Birtchengarten, Austria.
Rice’s military honors include a Bronze Star with cluster, Purple Heart with two Oak Leaf Clusters, Presidential Unit Citation with Oak Leaf Clusters, Combat Infantry Badge and Parachutist Badge, EAME Campaign Medal with 5 battle stars, French Fourragères, Belgian Lanyard, and Good Conduct Medal. In April 2015, the French government honored Rice and thirteen other veterans by appointing them Legion of Honor Chevaliers (knights) for their heroic service in liberating France during World War II. The award is the highest honor France bestows on its citizens and foreign nationals.
RiceÂ’s citation for the Bronze Star Metal reads in part:
He displayed his ability and courage in the Normandy campaign on 6 June 1944, the Airborne assault on Holland on 17 September 1944 and during the defense of the key city of Bastogne, Belgium from 19 December 1944 to 27 December 1944. Through the three campaigns, Sergeant Rice demonstrated his devotion to duty and outstanding service to his regiment. His actions were in accordance with the highest standards of the military service.
After RiceÂ’s honorable discharge at Fort MacArthur, California on December 21, 1945, one for a Hero Banner, download and application from the City of Coronado Website or visit City Hall and pick one up. Upon submission, you will need a photograph and news article or DD214 form. The nominee should have lived in Coronado. A base address constitutes residency.
City of Coronado web banner address: http://www.coronado.ca.us/egov/apps/document/center.egov?view=item;id=8501
Also available on Avenue of Heroes Facebook Page.he returned to his studies at San Diego State. He taught social studies and history in the San Diego area for nearly 44 years. Rice is married with five children. His memoirs Trial by Combat: A Paratrooper of the 101st Airborne Division Remembers the 1944 Battle of Normany (AuthorHouse 2004) recounts his preparation, training for and participation in Operation Overlord.
In June 2014, at age 92, Rice made his third parachute jump in three years on the anniversary of D-Day to honor fallen soldiers. In December 2014, he traveled to Belgium with other surviving members of the 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment to mark the anniversary of the Battle of the Bulge. He stated that coming back provides closure: “The scars are there, the wounds are healed, but we’re closing it.”
*Note: Sergeant Thomas M. Rice bio can be seen at Fourth and F.
By Shoshana Jones, May 2015
Next weekÂ’s Avenue of Heroes biography will Captain Ray A. Volpi
By Coronado Scribe, John Lepore, May 2015
