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name
KILMER, Thomas Blake - Date of
birth
3 March 1911 -
Age
34 - Place of
birth
Hood, Cooke County, Texas -
Hometown
Dallas, Dallas County, Texas
Personal info
Military service
- Service
number
38530926 -
Rank
Technician Fifth Grade -
Function
Demolition Specialist -
Unit
1301st Engineer General Service Regiment
-
Awards
Bronze Star
Death
-
Status
Died non-Battle - Date of
death
16 April 1945 - Place of
death
Jena, Germany
Grave
-
Cemetery
American War Cemetery Margraten
| Plot | Row | Grave |
|---|---|---|
| D | 11 | 32 |
Immediate family
-
Members
Ernest E. Kilmer (father)
Litha (Ruth) Kilmer (mother)
Ervin. E. Kilmer (brother)
Deloris C. Kilmer (sister)
Dorris E. Kilmer (sister)
Dwight M. Kilmer (brother)
Nora B. (Purcell) Kilmer (wife)
Larry D. Kilmer son)
Norma G. Kilmer (daughter)
More information
T/5 Thomas B. Kilmer attended collegebefore he enlisted in Dallas, Texas on 24 June 1943.The following information was provided by his son, Mr. Larry Kilmer:
"He was a Demolition Specialist in a Combat Engineer Regiment. My Dad had worked for several years for an oil exploration company before the war as a "Powder-man" - which was a person who handled all the dynamite and placed the charges a various depths in the ground and exploded them so the crew could produce seismograph images for the petroleum engineers to study. He was helping place explosives on a badly damaged bridge just outside Jena, Germany because they were afraid that it would collapse and damage equipment and personnel. They had just set the charges and were leaving the bridge when it did actually collapse before they could ignite the dynamite, killing all those who were on and under it."
He's honored at the Williamson County Veterans Memorial in Sun City, Georgetown, Texas.
Source of information: Raf Dyckmans, Terry Hirsch, Larry Kilmer (son), Carla Mans, www.abmc.gov, www.wwiimemorial.com, www.archives.gov - WWII Enlistment Record, www.ancestry.com - Family Trees / Birth Certificate / 1920 US Census
Photo source: www.findagrave.com - Des Philippet, Larry Kilmer (son)