Leslie Thompson

Personal Information

Birthplace: Rome, Kansas

Service Information

Branch of Service: Army

Unit: 961 Medical Platoon, Medical Technician

Theater of Operation: Pacific

Honored By: Eisenhower Foundation

Biography

Leslie Thompson was born with the help of a midwife in Rome, Kansas.

He was 20 years old when he was drafted in the Army in 1942. Thompson was an Army medic, stationed in the Pacific during World War II, traveling by ship to island as part of a hospital platoon.

Thompson recalled being under attack from a Japanese dive bomber. It sunk the ship behind Thompson’s ship. The gunners on his ship downed the bombers, and their ship preserved and scrambled for the shore.

After the war, Thompson returned to Wellington and farmed until joining the police department. He served 22 years with the police department, ending his career as assist police chief.