DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Thomas J. Gary, Jr. — and friend, this one deserves your full attention. He was born on September 16, 1922, in Texas City.
Thomas J. Gary, Jr. came up through Somerville Junior High in the 1930s — just a kid in a small Texas town, probably with no idea what the world had in store for him. He went back to Texas City after his schooling, and in 1940, at eighteen years old, he walked into the U.S.
Navy and enlisted. They made him a Seaman Second Class, and they assigned him to the USS California — the flagship for the Pacific fleet. Now, if you're going to serve on a ship, flagship for the Pacific fleet is about as consequential as it gets.
The California was stationed at Hawaii, and Thomas Gary was there, on that ship, on the morning of December 7, 1941. You already know what happened at Pearl Harbor that day. But here's what the marker wants you to know about Thomas J.
Gary specifically: when the attack came, he gave his life rescuing several of his crewmates. Not one. Several.
He is listed as buried at sea. For that, the United States Navy honored him with the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star, and a Navy Citation. And then — and this is where the story takes on another kind of weight — the Navy named not one but two ships after him.
One of them, the USS Thomas J. Gary, designated DE/DER-326, a destroyer escort, sailed around the world from 1943 all the way to 1973. A boy from Texas City, schooled in Somerville, gone at eighteen into the Navy — and the sea carried his name on warships for thirty years.
That's not a footnote. That's a life that made a mark.
What the marker says
Born on Sept. 16, 1922, in Texas City, Thomas J. Gary, Jr., attended Somerville Junior High in the 1930s. He returned to Texas City and, in 1940, at age 18, enlisted in the U.S. Navy. A Seaman Second Class, Gary was assigned to the USS California, flagship for the Pacific fleet. Stationed at Hawaii, the ship came under attack at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and Gary Gave his life to rescue several crewmates. Listed as buried at sea, he was honored for his bravery with the Purple Heart, the Bronze Star and a Navy Citation. The Navy also named two ships for him, including The USS Thomas Jj. Gary (de/der-326), a destroyer escort that served around the world from 1943-1973. (2002)