Editor’s note: TheSun Newspapers’ Veteran’s Voices features interviews by veteran of World War II, Bill Thomas of local veterans.
Youth
I was born in San Pedro, California. In school, I loved American and World History, Poly Science, and Geography. I majored in machine shop, and as a youth I was a Cub Scout and a Boy Scout.
My favorite hobby was photography. I graduated from San Pedro High School in 1955.
Military service
The Air Force Reserves was formally established in 1948, by President Truman who envisioned Reservists would stand ready to serve during wartime.
When the Korean War erupted in 1950, I was still in high school. So, in 1954, I enlisted in the Reserves and learned to drive 18 wheelers.
Our unit consisted of nearly 400,000 Reservists working in 20 troop carrier wings. We were outfitted with the C-46 and C-47 cargo planes and five light bombardment wings of B-26s.
I served with the 452 Bomb Wing (light) at the Air Force Base in the Long Beach Airport and stayed in the Reserves until January, 1956, then I joined the Regulars.
In the Air Force I went to jet mechanic school at Amarillo AFB, Texas and went on to Northrop’s F-89D & J models at Ladd AFB, Alaska, and on to NAA F-86L at Perrin AFB, Texas.
Since I enjoyed photography, while in the Air Force I bought an Argus C3. My favorite shots were mostly of military aircraft.
I was transferred to Lackland AFB in Texas for three weeks in a reenlistment squadron; then sent to Amarillo AFB, Texas to attend Jet Aircraft Mechanic School.
After six months at Amarillo I was sent to Ladd AFB in Alaska with the 449th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, and worked on the F-89D’s & F-89J’s Scorpions fighter planes.
About 18 months of service in Alaska I was sent to Perrin AFB, Texas where I worked on F-86L Sabres.
I stayed at Perrin AFB until I was happy to receive my Honorable Discharge
Civilian life
I was employed at Douglas Aircraft in Torrance, California in the machine shop. I started out deburring machined parts and cutting stock for mills and other machines.
Due to major cutbacks in the space industry I was laid off and went to the Autonetics branch of North American Aviation in Anaheim.
At first, I was placed in the machine shop as a 6-chuck drill press operator, and later at a Bridgeport milling machine. I worked for Douglas Aircraft and North American Aviation until October, 1963.
Later that year, I received a call to become a Longshoreman. I went to work on the docks in the Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports.
I became a member of ILWU local 13 for 21 years, and another 21 years as a foreman with ILWU local 94. I retired from the docks in August, 2005.
Continuing my love for photography and the pleasure I got from taking pictures of boats, ships and harbors, here and around the world, I upgraded to an Olympus OM-1 camera.
Family life
Just before midnight in the early 1980s. I met Imelda while we were on a Caribbean cruise.
I asked her to dance, and while dancing, we learned we were both from San Pedro. From that time on, we began dating and we married in 1989. We have a combined number of six children.
Current activities
For almost four years, Imelda and I have been volunteering in the Veterans Center at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos.
It is such a personal pleasure to be helping these young men and women in getting themselves reoriented into civilian life.
In the past two years Imelda and I have been going to Branson, Missouri for the week-long Veterans home coming event.
My current hobby is with the “Angels Gate,” the tugboat in San Pedro, California.
I joined the tugboat crew in March 2011.
Tug ST #10 was originally built for the Army Transportation Service in 1944 and was to be used in the D-Day Normandy landing, but it was still in the shipyards in Decatur, Alabama.
The Army brought the tugboat to the West Coast and sold it to the Los Angeles Harbor Department.
The Port of Los Angeles operated it until 1992, then the Harbor Department gave it to the Los Angeles Maritime Museum in the old Ferry Building in San Pedro, California.
The museum assembled an all-volunteer crew known as “The Tug Boyz.”
We maintain and operate the tug every Wednesday morning.
Our crew is made up of three departments; engine room, deck, and pilot house.
On the days the boat doesn’t go out of the harbor, three of us stay with the Pilot.
We do general house cleaning such as painting, polishing brass and cleaning windows.
On sailing days we have two lookouts; one starboard, and one port side looking out for traffic because the pilot can’t see those lower areas because the wheel is dead center in the pilot house.
The Pilot is the last hand on the mike who tells the passengers what they are looking at.
When Angels Gate goes out to sea, we go as far as the breakwater and through the Los Angeles and Long Beach Ports.
My job also is to raise the flag when the tug leaves the dock and lower the flag when the tug is tied up at the dock.
Before the tug was named “Angels Gate” all the machine guns and military hardware was removed.
Angels Gate is 85.9 feet long and has a beam of 23 feet.
She is 45 feet high from the water line to the top of the foreword mast.
Bill Thomas of Rossmoor is a Veteran of World War II, and Past Commander of VFW Post 4048,and American Legion Post 857. Contact Bill at vvbthomasvets@gmail.com
Veterans Meetings:
Meetings of the Seal Beach American Legion Post 857, and the S.B.Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 4048 are held in Building 6 of the Naval Weapons Station on Seal Beach Blvd., (south of Westminster Blvd.).
They both have a “Social Hour” starting at 6 p.m..
Their “Regular” meetings start at 7 p.m.
The American Legion meets on the third Tuesday.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars meet on the fourth Thursday.
A gate pass is reqired.
For more information, Contact Bill Thomas at 562-431-7795, or vvbthomasvets@gmail.com.
