Thomas Jarvis Grissom Jr

Technical Sergeant Thomas J. Grissom Jr. was killed in action on October 5, 1944 over Germany during World War II.  He was 21 years old.

Thomas Jarvis Grissom Jr was born on October 15, 1922, the son of Thomas Jarvis Grissom Sr and Ada Wynn Grissom. 

He entered the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1943 and trained at Keesler Field, Mississippi; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Kingman, Arizona and Dyersburg, Tennessee before being deployed to the European Theater of War serving as a radio operator with the 338th Bombardment Squadron, 96th Bomber Group (H) in July, 1944.

The 96th Bombardment Group (Heavy) was activated on July 15,  1942, moved to England, Apr-May 1943, and entered combat in May 1943.  It functioned primarily as a strategic bombardment organization throughout the war, attacking shipyards, harbors, railroad yards, airdromes, oil refineries, aircraft factories, and other industrial targets in Germany, France, Holland, Belgium, Norway, Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. In addition to strategic operations, missions included bombing coastal defenses, railway bridges, gun emplacements, and field batteries in the battle area prior to and during the invasion of Normandy in June 1944; attacking enemy positions in support of the breakthrough at St Lo in July 1944; and aiding the campaign in France in August by striking roads and road junctions, and by dropping supplies to the French Resistance.

TSgt Thomas Jarvis Grissom Jr. is buried in the Ardennes American Cemetery and Memorial in Liege, Belgium. 

Last edited: 26 May 2026