RESIDENCE (DURING WWII):
Arkinda, Little River, Arkansas
FULL NAME:
Thomas N. Oglesby
ARMY SERIAL NUMBER (ASN):
38383806
- DATE OF BIRTH: Nov 18, 1919
- DATE OF DEATH: June 23, 2018
DATE / PLACE OF ENLISTMENT:
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DATE OF ENLISTMENT:Dec 3, 1942
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PLACE OF ENLISTMENT:Shreveport, Louisiana
ORGANIZATION:
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MAIN UNIT:38th Infantry Regiment
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SUBUNIT:Company I, 3rd Battalion
RANK / POSITION IN UNIT (LAST KNOWN):
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RANK:Private First Class (Pfc.)
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POSITION IN UNIT:Rifleman
BATTLES AND CAMPAIGNS:
✭ Normandy Campaign (6 June – 24 July 1944), ✭ Northern France Campaign (25 July – 14 September 1944), ✭ Ardennes-Alsace Campaign (16 December 1944 – 25 January 1945), ✭ Rhineland Campaign (15 September 1944 – 21 March 1945), ✭ Central Europe Campaign (22 March – 11 May 1945)
DECORATIONS AND CITATIONS (AWARDS):
🎖Silver Star Medal, 🎖Bronze Star Medal, 🎖Purple Heart, 🎖American Campaign Medal, 🎖European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, 🎖WWII Victory Medal
SUMMARY OF HIS SERVICE:
Only four days were enough and Pvt. Thomas N. Oglesby, a member of Company I, 38th Infantry Regiment, become known in his unit as a decorated war hero and the true badass!
„On June 14, 1944 members of Company "I" faced a strong German counterattack near Hill 192. After thirteen long hours of combat when the Browning Automatic Rifle gunner fell wounded, a 24-year-old Pvt. Thomas Oglesby from Arkinda, AR., took over his gun and killed three Germans armed with submachine guns almost immediately, and shortly afterward eliminated a machine gun team of three men. Within an hour he had rounded out his busy 60 minutes by spraying a line of Germans advancing up a nearby road, killing seven. Pvt. Thomas Oglesby was protecting his company´s flank and singlehandedly halting a German advance through his section. He earned a Bronze Star medal for this action.“
„Only two days later, on June 16, Pvt. Thomas Oglesby earned a Silver Star. He was in the lead of his squad when he spotted a German machine gun 30 yards away. His commander 1st Lt. Guy D. Mabe reported that Pvt. Oglesby stood up without protection, fired an entire clip and eliminated an enemy machine gun nest. Thomas hit the dirt only when the entire squad began firing on the opposing weapon and 1st Lt. Guy Mabe ordered a withdrawal. Thomas Oglesby continued firing and 20 minutes later when he did get around to withdrawing to join his companions, he explained to his superior that he just figured he could do more good by remaining behind. Later Thomas discovered that three bullet holes nicked his uniform, including one bullet which stopped by the wallet he kept in his breast pocket, with a photo of his wife and son inside. His platoon leader 1st Lt. Guy D. Mabe stated that Pvt. Oglesby had directed his fire so effectively on the machine gun nest that his entire platoon probably was saved from serious casualties.“ NOTE: 1st Lt. Guy D. Mabe was killed several weeks later on July 28, 1944 in age 29. He was a very popular officer among men of Company "I".
Next day, on June 17, Thomas survived a mortar attack that killed two of his friends but he was also badly wounded. After three months of recovering from his injuries, instead of returning home Thomas requested to return to his platoon. He remained with his companions another months till the end of war, including the Battle of the Bulge and fights in Germany. At the end of war he was stationed with his platoon in Czechoslovakia in May 1945.
Pvt. Thomas N. Oglesby was promoted to Private First Class as he turned down repeated offers to be a squad leader because as he said, he did not want that type of life-or-death responsibility.
