Charles Leroy Thomas (April 17, 1920 – February 15, 1980) was a United States Army major who was a company commander during World War II. In 1997, he was awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation's highest military decoration for valor, for his actions on December 14, 1944 near Climbach, France. Thomas and six other Black Americans who served in World War II were awarded the Medal of Honor on January 12, 1997. The Medal of Honor was posthumously presented to Thomas by President Bill Clinton on January 13, 1997 during a Medals of Honor ceremony for the seven recipients at the White House in Washington, D.C. The seven recipients are the first and only Black Americans to be awarded the Medal of Honor for World War II. Biography Thomas was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He grew up in Detroit and graduated from Cass Technical High School in 1938. Thomas then worked as a molder for the Ford Motor Company (Ford River Rogue factory) with his father, and was a student at Wayne State University studying mechanical engineering. He was drafted, and entered the U.S. Army on January 20, 1942, at Fort Custer, Michigan. He completed Basic and Advanced Infantry Training at Camp Wolters and was assigned to the Infantry Replacement Training Center at Camp Wolters. When the Army began forming tank destroyer units, Thomas was transferred to Camp Carson, Colorado and joined the segregated 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion, which had been activated on July 25, 1942. The soldiers were Black, but most of the officers were white. Thomas quickly rose to the rank of Sergeant during unit training and was chosen to attend the Tank Destroyer Officer Candidate School (OCS) Class # 21 at Camp Hood, Texas when the battalion was transferred to Camp Bowie Texas on December 18, 1942. Thomas was commissioned a second lieutenant upon graduation from OCS on March 11, 1943 and returned to Camp Bowie to assume command of Company C, 614th Tank Destroyer Battalion and prepared the unit for the move to Camp Hood that was completed on March 23,1943. On August 27, 1944, he deployed with the 614th to England, arriving on September 7. On October 8, the 614th was on Utah Beach in Normandy, France. The 614th led by Lieutenant Colonel Frank S. Pritchard, then would join General Patton's Third Army in Metz, France. The 614th saw its first combat on November