Thomas Jefferson Meeks was eldest of five sons of Mr. and Mrs. Lester M. Meeks of Bethel, N.C., three of whom served in WWII in Germany. Thomas Meeks alone did not return from the war. He was the fifth alumni to be represented by the Gold Star on the ECTC Service Flag honoring those who had fallen in service. Others before him included O. D. Andrews, John C. Johnston, Stanley Woolfolk, and William “Bill” Sledge. Another 19 would follow before the end of WWII.
Meeks graduated from Bethel High School in 1936, and from ECTC in 1940. Before transferring to ECTC, he studied at the University of North Carolina. At ECTC, Meeks excelled as a student, majoring in mathematics and science, and participating in the YMCA his senior year, the college orchestra his junior year, the band his junior and senior years, and the science club his sophomore, junior, and senior years. Following graduation, he taught for a year in Ahoskie before entering service.
In August 1941, after finishing the Army Air Force Navigation School at Hondo, Texas, Meeks received his wings as a navigator and was commissioned as a second lieutenant. By April 1943, Meeks was serving in the European theatre as a navigator on B-17 Flying Fortresses with the Army’s Eighth Air Force responsible for systematic, high altitude, strategic bombing of Germany and German dominated areas in preparation for later ground invasions.
The death rate for Eighth Air Force members was significantly higher than for ground soldiers. In 1943, B-17 crewmen had a one-in-five chance of surviving their tour of duty. Tellingly, the Eighth Air Force lost more men in WWII than did the U.S. Marine Corps. Meeks’ time with the Army Air Corps was distinguished: he received the Purple Heart and an Oak Leaf Cluster Air Medal awarded to those who had participated in ten sorties.
However, Meeks was killed in action on June 13, 1943, during a strategic attack on the German-controlled Saint-Omer Airport in Calais, France.
Meeks’ two brothers, Wyatt C. Meeks (1923-2017) and Joseph B. Meeks (1925-1990), both of whom fought in the Army as privates first class in ground combat in Germany, survived their tours of service.
Lt. Meeks was buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Greenville.
Sources:
- “Air Awards To Carolinians.” Charlotte Observer. September 10, 1943. P. 21.
- “Lt. Vernon Tyson Home From War Front; Alumni In Various Branches Of Service.” Teco Echo. August 23, 1943. Pp. 1, 4. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/37925
- McInnis, Sarah. “Memorial Service Held To Honor War Dead.” Teco Echo. May 26, 1944. Pp. 1, 4. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/37940
- “National Museum of the Mighty Eighth Air Force: Masters of the Air.” https://www.mightyeighth.org/masters-of-the-air/
- “Service Flag For ECTC Presented.” Teco Echo. August 23, 1943. P. 1. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/37925
- “Those Killed In The Services.” Tecoan. 1945. No page numbers given. https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/15350
- “Three Service Brothers.” News and Observer. July 6, 1945. P. 5.
- “Two Tar Heels Win Wings.” News and Observer. August 18, 1942. P. 8.
Related Materials
Thomas Jefferson Meeks. Image Source: Tecoan, 1939. UA50-01. University Archives, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.
Thomas Jefferson Meeks. Image Source: Tecoan, 1940. UA50-01. University Archives, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC.
Thomas Jefferson Meeks. Image Source: “Tar Heels Win Wings.” News and Observer. August 18, 1942. P. 8.
Thomas Jefferson Meeks’s Draft Registration Card. Image Source: U.S., World War II Draft Cards Young Men, 1940-1947.Ancestry.com
Image Source: National Archives at Washington DC; Washington DC, USA; Applications for Headstones for U.S. Military Veterans, 1925-1941; NAID: A1, 2110-C; Record Group Number: 92; Record Group Title: Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General.
Citation Information
Author: John A. Tucker, PhD
Date of Publication: 5/9/2022