He was the father of Derrick Thomas, a linebacker and defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs who was elected to the NFL Hall of Fame in 2009. Capt Thomas never got to see his son play football
An American flag serves as a backdrop to an image of Capt. Robert J. Thomas and a B-52G Stratofortress. During Operation Linebacker II over North Vietnam in 1972, Thomas was the co-pilot of Charcoal 01, the first B-52 shot down. After being declared missing in action for almost 6 years, the captain’s remains were finally recognized in 1978 and given back to his family by the U.S. Army Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii. John Q. Public claims that on January 27, 1997, when the captain’s son, linebacker Derrick Thomas of the Kansas City Chiefs, visited Hickam Air Force Base in Hawaii, the picture was a part of a display given to him.
He was the father of Derrick Thomas, a linebacker and defensive end for the Kansas City Chiefs who was elected to the NFL Hall of Fame in 2009. Capt Thomas never got to see his son play football.
Seventy-five Airmen died supporting the operation, 33 of whom died in the 15 downed B-52 Stratofortress bombers—the primary bombers flown during Operation Linebacker II. More than 700 sorties were flown out of Andersen AFB and U-Tapao Royal Thai Airbase, Thailand, during the operation, which is also known as the 11-Day War or 11 Days of Christmas. Fifteen thousand tons of munitions were dropped mainly on military targets in North Vietnam by the completion of the operation.
Photo by U.S. Air Force