John Edmund “Jack” Thelen was born on 13 November 1922 to Edmund J. Thelen and Kathryn LaPier Thelen in Schenectady, New York. Jack was an only child. His father Edmund served in the US Navy during World War I and then as a patrolman with the Schenectady Police Department. His mother Kathryn was a cashier at a theater.

Jack attended Mont Pleasant High School in Schenectady, where he was active in athletics and played varsity football. He also had a keen interest in aviation. In 1938 he was a founding member of a new model airplane club, The Schenectady Aeroneers. In 1939 he became a member of the Junior Birdmen of America, a nationwide club “Devoted to the Interest of American Youth in Aviation.”

Schenectady Gazette, 19 Dec 1938

Albany Times Union, 18 Feb 1939

In June of 1938, Jack’s mother won $2650 in the Irish Derby. She told a reporter for the Schenectady Gazette, “I am not going to spend the money on myself … but plan to invest it in a college education for my son, Jack.” The reporter noted that she “was a happy woman with a bright future planned for her son.”

Schenectady Gazette, 2 Jun 1938

Jack Thelen 1940 Mont Pleasant High School Yearbook Photo

Jack graduated from high school in January 1941 and then entered the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP) to learn to fly. In the fall of 1941, Jack began attending Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York and enrolled in the new Naval Reserve Officer’s Training Corps (ROTC) program. He enlisted in the US Navy on 15 June 1942. Jack became an aviation cadet and left for primary flight training at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill in September 1942. Later he received additional training at NAS Corpus Christi.

Albany Knickerbocker News, 17 Sep 1941

Schenectady Gazette, 3 Oct 1942

Tragedy struck the family in April 1943 when Jack’s father Edmund died of a heart condition. Only Jack’s adoring mother was left when he commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Marine Corps on 10 July 1943.

July 10, 1943 Graduation, Slipstream Yearbook

2nd Lt. Thelen then went to NAS San Diego and joined MAG-13 in October of 1943. On November 1, 1943, Lt. Thelen was was assigned to Marine Fighting Squadron One-Eleven (VMF-111), Marine Aircraft Group 31 (MAG-31), 4th Marine Base Defense Aircraft Wing. At that point the squadron was based in the Ellice Islands then Tutuila, American Samoa and participated in the air defense of the Ellice Islands in connection with the Gilberts (Tarawa) Campaign.

By March of 1944, VMF-111 was based at Makin in the Marshall Islands and was engaged in reconnaissance, strafing, and bombing missions against the four remaining enemy bases in the Marshalls: Jaluit, Mille, Maloelap, Wotje Atolls.

Flying F4U-1 Corsairs, the VMF-111 pilots had a routine mission of bombing Mille Atoll, landing at Majuro for new bombs, bombing Mille again, and then returning to Makin. On 28 May 1944 on one of these missions, Lt. Thelen had completed the bombing run on Mille and was in the landing circle at Majuro. His F4U-1 (Bureau No. 18115) collided in midair with the F4U-1 (Bureau No. 55803) being flown by Capt. Albert M. Blackmon. The planes crashed into the sea a mile north of the Naval Air Base at Majuro and sank immediately. Both pilots were killed, and only Lt. Thelen’s body was recovered. The rest of the VMF-111 pilots continued on the mission, but returned to Majuro for the night, rather than return to Makin, presumably to mourn their fallen comrades. The following day, Lt. Thelen was buried at Pegerian Island Cemetery in Majuro Atoll. Capt. Blackmon is listed as missing in action.

USMC Muster Roll, VMF-111, May 1944

USMC Muster Roll, VMF-111, May 1944, footnotes

MAG-31 War Diary, May 1944, describing accident which killed Lt. John E. Thelen and Capt. Albert M. Blackmon

MAG-31 War Diary, May 1944, describing burial of Lt. John E. Thelen

4th Marine Base Defense Aircraft Wing War Diary, May 1944

Schenectady Gazette, 1 Jun 1944

In 1945, the Schenectady Aeroneers model airplane club established the “John E. Thelen Trophy of Merit” to be awarded “for exceptional airplane modeling in the past year.” The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute included him in their “Roll of the War Dead” in their alumni magazine.

RPI Alumni News, March 1946 "Roll of the War Dead." Lt. Thelen is incorrectly listed under US Navy, instead of US Marine Corps. Image courtesy of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute archives.

2nd Lt. Thelen’s body was eventually moved to Hawaii before finally being laid to rest next to his father in St. Joseph’s Cemetery in Schenectady, New York in 1947. His mother passed away in 1972 and is buried on the other side of her beloved son. While the bright future she had planned for her son was not to be, he was never forgotten and will continued to be remembered.

Schenectady Gazette, 28 May 1947

Albany Times Union, 11 Oct 1947

Schenectady Gazette, 18 Oct 1947

Lt. Thelen's grave, St. Joseph's Cemetery, Schenectady, NY

Story by Donna Esposito

https://www.donnaesposito.com/

This story is part of the Stories Behind the Stars project (see www.storiesbehindthestars.org). This is a national effort of volunteers to write the stories of all 400,000+ of the US WWII fallen here on Fold3. Can you help write these stories? Related to this, there will be a smartphone app that will allow people to visit any war memorial or cemetery, scan the fallen's name and read his/her story.

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References:

1930 Federal Census

1940 Federal Census

1940 Mont Pleasant High School Yearbook

Find-A-Grave for John Edmund Thelen

MAG-31 War Diary, May 1944

4th Marine Base Defense Aircraft Wing War Diary, May 1944

May 1944 USN Overseas Loss List at Aviation Archaeological Investigation and Research

RPI Alumni News and The Rensselaer Polytechnic articles at Rensselaer Digital Collections

Schenectady Gazette, Albany Times Union, and Knickerbocker News articles via https://fultonhistory.com/

USMC Muster Rolls at Ancestry.com

VMF-111 War History

John Edmund Thelen (1922-1944)