Francis E. Thomas

Colonel (Ret) Francis "Tommy" Thomas, long-time Director of the Jackson Barracks Military Museum and Command Historian of the Louisiana National Guard, died May 13th after a long battle with Alzheimer's. He was 91. Francis graduated from Warren Easton High School, where he was a drummer in both the symphonic and marching bands, in 1942 and immediately enlisted in the Army. Trained in anti-aircraft artillery, he was reclassified infantry in the spring of 1944 and assigned to the 175h Infantry, 29th Infantry Division, then training in England. He took part in the cross-Channel invasion on D-Day, was lucky enough to survive the Normandy campaign, spent 3 months recuperating in England after being wounded in Brittany, and rejoined his unit to fight through Germany. He returned home to the Lower 9th Ward in January 1946. Using the GI Bill to graduate from Tulane, he then joined the Army National Guard and was commissioned a 2d lieutenant. After 18 months active duty during the Berlin Crisis of 1961-62, he returned to Jackson Barracks (where he lived for more than 40 years) and went to work for the Guard full-time as a state employee. He retired in 1994 after marrying for the 2d time and moved to Virginia, where his wife worked as a civilian historian for the National Guard Bureau. They returned to New Orleans in 2013 after her retiremenet. Francis' first wife, Louise, passed away several years ago. He is survived by his 2d wife, Renee Hylton; stepdaughter Maggie Greene; nephew Mel Thomas; and niece Sharon Goubler and her son Barry. Francis' ashes were placed briefly on the bar at Mandina's, where he was a devoted regular for almost 30 years. He will be interred at Ft Huachuca, a beautiful (almost as beautiful as Jackson Barracks) 1886 Cavalry post in southeastern Arizona. The post cemetary, at the base of the Huachuca Mountains, is the final resting place of "Buffalo Soldiers" of the 10th US Cavalry, Apache scouts, the troops who chased Pancho Villa, and Renee's parents. A memorial second line was held on August 7th, with family and friends traveling long distances to march up Royal Street and across Canal in Francis' honor.