World War II veteran James Thompson honored by USTF at Memorial Day ceremony

James L. Thompson is one of the most interesting men in the world.

The 96-year-old World War II veteran has two birthdays, June 26 or June 27, two names, James Lloyd Thompson or Lloyd James Thompson Jr., and served in two branches of the military, the Army and Air Force.

He was a cryptographer during World War II. His sister, who just turned 100 years old, was a code girl during the war, too. Thompson's memory is sharp. He recalled specific details about his military career with an astute wit.

"I worked for a guy named General MacArthur," Thompson said.

Thompson was one of the United States Exercise Tiger Foundation's special guests at the Military Officers Association of Mid-Missouri's Memorial Day Wreath-laying Ceremony Monday.

He was gifted a Medal of Combat by the USTF in honor of his service, which gave Thompson a surprise he appreciated greatly.

"This is amazing," Thompson said. "I had no idea that was going happen."

Thompson grew up in Columbia before he served in World War II. His stepfather's offices were in the Guitar Building on Walnut and Eighth, across the street from where the wreath-laying ceremony occurred.

Thompson didn't graduate from high school and said he had an inferiority complex that stemmed from growing up with dyslexia. When he was drafted in 1944, it allowed him to leave that behind.

Heading to St. Louis after getting drafted, Thompson said he had issues with his uniform the very first day. That's when he heard his name called and thought he would be discharged from the armed forces because he didn't carry the qualifications.

Instead, he was handed a manila folder and men to lead.

"They called me forward and they gave me a manila folder with five others," Thompson said. "They said I was in charge of these five guys and I was supposed to take them to Camp Crowder."

Camp Crowder, also known as Fort Crowder, was a U.S. Army post in Newton and McDonald counties in southwest Missouri. It was constructed and used during World War II.

From there, Thompson went from Fort Crowder to the West Coast in June of 1945 and was deployed to Enok, one of the islands in the Marshall Islands. He also spent a couple of years stationed in Japan.

"I just blessed by what happened to me in the Army," Thompson said.

Honoring Thompson was also significant for the USTF.

The USTF's namesake, Exercise Tiger Foundation, was named after the Battle of Exercise Tiger. The Battle of Exercise Tiger, also known as Operation Tiger, was one part of a series of large-scale events the military conducted in rehearsal for the D-Day invasion of Normandy. Exercise Tiger took place in April 1944 on the Slapton Sands in Devon, South West England.

USTF National Director Susan Haines said it was euphoric the USTF was able to honor Thompson as one of its special guests Monday. According to the National World War II Museum, of the 16 million veterans who fought in World War II, there are currently 167,284 living.

Haines said Missouri lost more men during the battle of Exercise Tiger than any other state in the United States.

"Our organization was founded by those World War II young veterans, those who came back in the battle of Exercise Tiger," Haines said. "For me to be able to see that there's still some World War II veterans in our crowds for our ceremonies, it was like my heart just pitter-pattered."

The USTF gave out medals and Dept. Of Defense pins to all veterans and veteran families of those who served from Korea to Afghanistan. All could receive a medal from the USTF, and the USTF handed out 29 medals on Monday.

The opportunity to award Thompson his own medal was special for Haines as the number of living World War II veterans lessens, as was the opportunity to simply shake his hand.

"I found myself feeling like this is a very special moment," Haines said. "This is an opportunity for me to thank him for his service."

After serving in the Army, Thompson's service continued into the Air Force, and he recalled his last assignment was with the Air Force at Whiteman Air Force Base, which is an airbase based in Johnson County, Missouri.

Thompson said while in the Air Force, he was the "least qualified Lieutenant," and he earned the rank after serving as a sergeant and enlisting in the ROTC program for a semester. However, that rank earned him top-secret clearance.

He was a "targeting officer" and knew of different missile targets. Thompson was tasked with putting any top-secret papers that weren't needed anymore into an incinerator. When someone put a lock on the incinerator, he still did his duty by finding 50-gallon barrels where he burned the papers and could carry out his orders.

Thompson's service spanned multiple countries and different orders but always called Columbia home. That service was honored Monday.

"That was one of those special, I'd like I say breathtaking, moments," Haines said.

This article originally appeared on Columbia Daily Tribune: World War II veteran James Thompson honored by USTF at Memorial Day ceremony