Gerald W. Thomas (1919–2013)

Gerald W. Thomas was born on a ranch on Medicine Lodge Creek in southeastern Idaho, one of six sons. He attended the local Medicine Lodge school through 11th grade, then finished high school in Pasadena, California. He attended Pasadena Junior College for two years and then graduated with a bachelor of science degree in forestry from the University of Idaho, at Moscow. In 1942, following the USA's entry in World War II, he volunteered for the Navy and was trained as a dive-bomber pilot. He was assigned to Torpedo Squadron Four attached to the aircraft carrier USS Ranger. On his first combat mission, flying over the coast of Norway, his plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire; despite the considerable damage, he managed to fly it back to the Ranger. He later fought in the Pacific theater, and survived a splash landing in the South China Sea during a typhoon. He wrote about his experiences in the memoir Torpedo Squadron Four -- A Cockpit View of World War II (revised edition 2011). He was awarded three Distinguished Flying Crosses and other decorations for his combat actions. In 1945, he married Jean Ellis, with whom he had three children, and went to work for the U.S. Soil Conservation Service in Idaho. In 1950, the family moved to College Station, Texas, where he enrolled in Texas A&M University, earning an MS and a PhD in wildlife management. He became dean of the College of Agricultural Sciences at Texas Tech University and then president of New Mexico State University, a post he held for 14 years and chronicled in his book A Winding Road to the Land of Enchantment. He also was the author or co-author of several other books and more than 200 publications.