Wilbur Thomas was born in March 1923 and grew up in Swissvale, Pennsylvania with two older brothers. During the Great Depression, his father was laid off from his job and went to work for the WPA [Annotator's Note: Works Progress Administration], but later was able to find a job at a machine shop. Thomas went to work doing a variety of jobs ranging from sweeping up the ashes produced by the local steel mills to selling his mother's baked goods. In 1940, after graduating high school, Thomas enrolled at the Carnegie Institute of Technology [Annotator's Note: Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania] on a full scholarship. He was living at home when he heard that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941] on the radio. His two older brothers served in the Navy.

Wilbur Thomas enrolled in the school's ROTC [Annotator's Note: Reserve Officer Training Corps] program while he attended Carnegie Institute of Technology [Annotator's Note: Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania]. He remained in the ROTC program until being called to active duty about six months before he was to graduate. In 1943, Thomas was called to active duty and was sent to Fort Meade, Maryland where he was inducted into the Army as a private and then sent to Fort Leonard Wood [Annotator's Note: Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri] for basic training as an engineer for four months. Many of the men in his training group had been coal and lead miners in West Virginia, or cotton farmers from Mississippi. Several of them were unable to read or write. While this surprised Thomas at first, it did not take him long to realize that a person's knowledge is what makes them who they are, not what they are. He continued to take more training with the ASTP [Annotator's Note: Army Specialized Training Program] at Virginia Polytechnic Institute [Annotator's Note: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Virginia], and then sent to Fort Belvoir, Virginia for OCS [Annotator's Note: Officer Candidate School]. Thomas recalled that the instructors at OCS would harass the cadets often as part of the training and helped him during the war and in his future careers.

Wilbur Thomas was an officer in the Army. He recalled times where he had to lead and support hundreds of troops during World War 2 as a combat engineer. He remembered creating an ice cream maker out of a refrigerator which was popular amongst his unit. After graduating from OCS [Annotator's Note: Officer Candidate School] in 1944, he was assigned to Camp Pickett, Virginia as a platoon leader for a combat outfit and trained for overseas. On Christmas Day 1944, his unit boarded a boat and was shipped overseas. Thomas remembered that his ship almost capsized and many of the troops got seasick on the voyage. They sailed with a large convoy, anchored near England, and two days later headed to Le Havre [Annotator's Note: Le Havre, France].

Wilbur Thomas and his unit were traveling were near La Havre [Annotator's Note: Le Havre, France] with a convoy, when they heard a huge explosion. A Merchant Marine ship had hit a mine. They were able to salvage the ship and bring it into the harbor. He recalled the weather being very cold and snowy and much of their equipment had been sent away because of a train wreck. A few weeks after his arrival in Europe, Thomas was transferred to the Petroleum & Pipeline Division [Annotator's Note: US Army Corps of Engineers, Petroleum & Pipeline Division] and was sent to Cherbourg [Annotator's Note: Cherbourg, France]. Thomas recalled that the townspeople were very hospitable and welcoming. They often bartered with the French using their care packages as exchanges. Thomas' unit was charged with managing 50 miles of pipeline out of Cherbourg to the frontline and had to have three million gallons pumped per day. Wilbur discusses the training, problems and solutions of managing the pipelines successfully. [Annotator's Note: A telephone rings in the background at 0:56:43.000; the interviewer pauses the interview to change tapes at 0:56:45.000.]

Wilbur Thomas supervised the logistics of the pipeline, so the frontline had enough fuel supply. He goes on to talk about the importance of safety around the pipeline. The pipeline had several pumping stations due to the terrain of Europe.

Wilbur Thomas recalled the difficulties of managing the French Army while he supervised the pipelines. He also remembered that he would barter with the Merchant Marines when they came to deliver their equipment and supplies in Cherbourg [Annotator's Note: Cherbourg, France]. He mentioned that he never interacted with troops at the front line or with German prisoners of war. Thomas recalled the war in Europe ended abruptly for him. He was taken off the line immediately and sent to Marseille [Annotator's Note: Marseille, France] to train for the invasion of Japan. He recalled his time in Marseille as enjoyable because they were no longer under the pressure of the enemy. He was able to sightsee and indulge in other games and entertainment. Thomas recalls reading the Stars and Stripes to get information about what was going on in Japan. He was then put on a troop ship and headed to the Panama Canal. The United States dropped the atomic bomb as they made their way through the canal. Thomas thought they would be going home, but were sent to the Philippines as replacements at the conclusion of the war.

Wilbur Thomas was assigned to supervise and maintain all the utilities including the pipeline, water, electricity, and refrigeration. He also had to gather unwanted equipment and dump it in the ocean. He remarked how enjoyed his time in the Philippines and the local people. He recalled the prisoners of war built the allied troops a golf course. Thomas recalled an incident where he had a leak in the gas pipe and a Filipino was able to collect the gas and sell it on the open market. Thomas spent one year in the Philippines and before he left, he built a small village with lots of amenities for those that were to replace him and his unit [Annotator's Note: US Army Corps of Engineers, Petroleum & Pipeline Division]. He left on 6 July 1946 to avoid the civil unrest in the Philippines.

In the Summer of 1946, Wilbur Thomas returned home from the Philippines. He landed in San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California] and on his train ride to Fort Meade [Annotator's Note: Fort Meade, Maryland], his cabin ran free from the rest of the train, skidding miles. The engineer finally attached them back and heading forward. He was discharged in the summer of 1946 at Fort Meade. He joined the Reserves and was given exemptions for the Korean War and was discharged in 1947 as a Captain. [Annotator's Note: The interviewer pauses the interview to change tapes at 1:50:57.000.] Thomas returned to Carnegie Institute of Technology [Annotator's Note: Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania] to finish his degree. He made it a point to be his own boss and turned down many jobs offers. He moved to Cleveland, Ohio and began working as a chief engineer for a new foundry company. His company moved him to Detroit [Annotator's Note: Detroit, Michigan] in 1948.

Wilbur Thomas felt that World War 2 did not change his life but opened his eyes to new experiences. Thomas remarks that if he knows what the problem is, he can figure out how to solve it. Thomas thought the atomic bomb was a good idea. He believes America is the greatest country on Earth and wants to support it anyway he can. Thomas entered the service without any hesitation and had one object, to save America. His most memorable experience was when the Merchant Marine boat that blew up from a mine when they entered the harbor. Thomas is proud to be a veteran of World War 2 and being in the Army helped him build confidence.