Archives West Finding Aid

Major General Jack E. Thomas USAF, retired, died peacefully at home on December 11, 2008, at the age of 98. He was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, on November 30, 1910, to Samuel Joseph and Mary Ann Thomas. General Thomas graduated from the University of Utah in 1931 with a B.A. in Political Science. Subsequently, he received an M.S. in Public Administration and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley. His intelligence career spanned more than 60 years. His military intelligence career began in 1941 with the 47th Bomb Wing. He became a Colonel in 1948, a Brigadier General in 1961, and Major General in 1964, shortly after his appointment as the Headquarters USAF Assistant Chief of Staff, Intelligence, at the Pentagon. He was one of the first USAF General Officers who was not a pilot or a U.S. Military Academy graduate. General Thomas was the senior intelligence officer for two Air Force Chiefs of Staff—General Curtis E. LeMay and General J.P. McConnell. He retired in 1969. Following his retirement from the Air Force, General Thomas served for nine years on the staff of the Director of Central Intelligence and then served as a full-time consultant in the Office of the Secretary of Defense between 1978 and 2004. General Thomas served on the Board of Directors of the Association for Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO) and the Board of the National Military Intelligence Association (NMIA), among other organizations. Annually, the NMIA awards the “Major General Jack E. Thomas Award” to a USAF-selected recipient for “Exceptional Intelligence Professionalism.” His decorations include the USAF Distinguished Service Medal, the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal presented by the Director of the CIA, the Legion of Merit for his World War II service in Italy, and several foreign medals. In 1998, he was presented the prestigious Baker Award, taking his place among a long list of other notables such as Senator Barry Goldwater; Ambassador Vernon Walters; and former Secretary of Defense, Dr. James Schlesinger. General Thomas is survived by his widow, Margaret Rohrer Thomas of Fresno, and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.