Maj. General Thomas S. Jeffrey Jr. has passed away

 

Thomas S. Jeffrey Jr. - As Deputy Group Commander of the 390th Bomb Group he was instrumental in the formation, training, and deployment of the Group to England. He was the 390th's Command Pilot on the Schweinfurt mission "Black Thursday" October 14, 1943 for which the group received it second Distinguished Unit Citation.

In May of 1944, Col. Jeffrey took over command of the unlucky 100th Bomb Group (The Hard Luck Group) and implemented procedures and discipline that made the 100th BG one of the best groups in the ETO.

During his tour of Europe, General Jeffrey flew 27 missions in B-17s with the 390th and 100th Bomb Group, and was awarded the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross with four oak leaf clusters, Bronze Star Medal, Air Medal with three oak leaf clusters, Army Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster, French Croix de Guerre and Polish Cross of Valor.

He participated in both of the shuttle bombing missions to Russia in the summer and fall of 1944.

Just prior to the end of World War II, General Jeffrey was assigned as deputy director of operations of U.S. Strategic Air Force in Paris and later as director of operations of U.S. Air Forces in Europe when the Headquarters moved to Wiesbaden, Germany.

B-17G “Silver-Dollar”, Col. Jeffrey’s
aircraft with the 100th BG in 1945.
This aircraft participated in the air battle
over the Ore Mountains on Sept 11, 1944,
and flew 102 bombing missions in total
during the WWII.

After the war, Col. Jeffrey served in different high ranks with the USAAF, and USAF, and was assigned to the Pentagon where he served for three years as chief of development for the Armed Forces Special Weapons Project.
He retired as a General in 1971.

His leadership before during and after the War was inspiring to those who served under him and those who only had the pleasure of knowing him in later years.       (Left: General Jeffrey in his flight gear from the war in 1995)

I remember the time, when with Jaromir Kohout, we met the two legends of the 100th BG – Robert Rosenthal and Thomas S. Jeffrey. It was in an entrance to a hotel in Salt Lake City in 1997, where a reunion of the 100th BG took place. This was a unique opportunity, when we met both legends. I asked them with my not so great English, if they remember the events on Sept 11th, 1944. Both remembered. “Rosie” Rosenthal lost all of his crew from his 350th BS, which departed that day to bomb Ruhland, and it was also one third of the total bombers from the unit led by the Commander Thomas Jeffrey.

I had the opportunity to get to know General Jeffrey better on the following reunions, and I was able to have long conversations with him. Nicknamed as “Gen Jeff”, he supported our Museum and was very pleased that his boys of the 100th BG receive such an attention in a place where they fought and died on Sept 11th, 1944.

I will never forget a moment during my last meeting with General Jeffrey at the 100th BG reunion in Houston in October 2003. During the last evening ceremonial, he sat on the podium, and started to sing a song from the wartime to all of his people in the hall. Unfortunately I don’t remember the text, only “blonds” and “Messerschmitts” stick in my memory… it was like I would be half a century back in the officer’s club in Thorpe Abbotts, the scent of whisky in the air, and a half of the personnel in the bar awaiting tomorrow’s mission to Germany…

Below is a letter from Gen. Jeffrey to the 100th BG that he sent in Sept 2007. Unfortunately due to his illness, Gen. Jeffrey was not able to attend the reunion:

Greetings! Best wishes to the 100th Bomb Group reunion attendees! Wish I could be here to swap tall tales! We are still hanging in here. We're ALL hanging in here; we're all still here, some just floating a little higher than before. As the old song says “…You take her up and spin her, and with an awful tear, your ship folds up, your wings fall off, but you will never care, for in two minutes max another pair you'll find… and dance with Pete and the angels sweet, and you will never mind.” Well, never mind this old age stuff. We'll get through it, we always have. We're tough, made of strong fiber and all of my colleagues of yesteryear proved it – showed what they were made of. We're all steadily turning over the great 100th Bomb Group Foundation to younger members with new ideas, a fresh outlook, and a desire to be a part of it. And that is as it should be. The proud tradition carries on. And we are pleased. Thank you for carrying on, thank you for cataloging the history, and keeping the memories alive. I raise my glass to you all! Maj. General Thomas S. Jeffrey Jr. Commanding Officer 100th Bomb Group (H)

All photos: 100th BG Archives, and J.Z.

Additional information:

Thomas S. Jeffrey’s web page with the 100th BG
http://www.100thbg.com/mainpages/crews/crews6/jeffrey_t.htm

Activity with the 390th Bomb Group:
http://www.390th.org/warstories/Jeffrey.htm

Official resume USAF:
http://www.af.mil/bios/bio.asp?bioID=5938

 

The two photos are from the encounter of Thomas S. Jeffrey
and Glenn Miller in 1944. After the concert for the 100th BG
in Thorpe Abbotts, Miller departed for his redeployment to France,
and is MIA to this day.

Col. Thomas S. Jeffrey on the left,
composer Glenn Miller on the right

General Thomas S. Jeffrey at the 100th BG reunion,
in Houston, 2003. Col. Edward E. Gallagher on the left,
US Deffence and Air Attaché in Czech Republic at the time (www link),
the author of this contribution (J. Zdiarsky) on the right

Our Condolences go out to Thomas Jeffrey’s Daughter Ann, and to the whole family.

Thomas Jeffrey will be remembered in our Museum with respect and appreciation. As he reminded with an old song… even now they fly, just a little bit higher… and maybe he is leading a large formation of more then two hundred Fortresses, with their crew, which his Group lost during the war. But this time without the bomb, and cannons, only on the way from the sun to the dark blue nights, and back. Their engines roar though the ice-cold sky.

Good flight Sir!

March 17, 2007
J. Zdiarsky