Thomas Pierson Bays was born March 20, 1920, in Los Angeles, California, to parents Thomas Jefferson and Rosamond Bays. He attended grade schools in California until December 1930, then transferred to Lakeview, Oregon, where he attended grade school from 1931-1933, then Cogswell Creek Grade School from 1933-1934. He attended Lakeview High School from 1934-1938.
Tom started at Oregon State College (now Oregon State University) in 1938. He joined the Delta Upsilon fraternity and majored in agriculture, animal husbandry, and specialized range management. He belonged to Alpha Zeta (agriculture honor society), Scabbard and Blade (ROTC honor society), and Withycombe Club. At OSU, Tom was in ROTC for four years and trained in field artillery. He spent the summer of 1941 at Fort Lewis, attached to the 98th Field Artillery Battalion (Mule Pack). Tom graduated from Oregon State in May 1942 in uniform and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant.
In September 1942, Tom was called to active duty at Fort Sill, Oklahoma Battery Officers Class. He was promoted to First Lieutenant and sent to the 70th Infantry Division Artillery, Battery A, 725th Field Artillery Battalion, at Camp Adair, Oregon in March of 1943.
In January 1944, Tom transferred to the Army Air Corps pilot training. He had preflight training at Santa Anna, California, and flight training at Visalia, California; however, he “washed out” of pilot training.
In April 1944, Tom was ordered to Camp Roberts, California, Battery B, 54th Field Artillery Battalion. He then went to Fort Still, Oklahoma, for training as a Naval Gunfire Liaison (a forward observer for naval gunfire landing with infantry). In November 1944, he joined the 71st Joint Assault Signal Company (JASCO), at Fort Ord, California, and in December 1944, his unit was transferred to Camp Callan (just north of San Diego). Naval gunfire spotters (field artillery men) trained at U.S. Amphibious Training Base, Coronada, California.
In February 1945, Tom’s unit was taken by an Army troop ship to Noumea, New Caledonia, and his 71st JASCO was attached to the 81st Infantry Division, 10th U.S. Army, and loaded onto a navy ship which departed for Okinawa. However, when the ship was just out of port, it was ordered to return to Noumea. Then the 81st Division and its attachments were transferred to the 8th U.S. Army and transported to the island of Leyte, Philippines Islands, which had been secured from the Japanese. The 71st JASCO set up a base camp at Dulag, a town on Leyte.
In mid-1945, the 71st JASCO was transferred to the 6th U.S. Army, and then in July 1945, the Naval Gunfire Liaison Section was transferred to Subic Bay for final naval gunfire training prior to a planned landing assault on Kyusu, Japan. During a visit to the G4, 6th U.S. Army, Tom learned the name of the ship on which he would be transported to Kyusu. It was common knowledge that only 50% of naval gun fire spotters survived a landing operation such as the one planned at Kyusu. On August 6 and 9, 1945, atomic bombs were dropped on Japan. On August 13, 1945, Tom was promoted to Captain. September 2, the war ended, and Tom’s unit was shipped back to Dulag.
In November 1945, the 71st JASCO unit was deactivated at Dulag, and Tom was transferred to the 668th U.S. Army, Medium Port Command, Tacloban, Leyte Island, Philippines Islands. He arrived on a Saturday, and then at midnight on Sunday he became the Night Superintendent of the Port of Tacloban. Tom eventually became a Ship Operations Officer directing up to 78 FS vessels (supply ships) serving all of the southern Philippine Islands.
In March 1946, Tom was shipped to San Francisco aboard the troopship U.S.S. General R.E. Callan, then by rail to Fort Lewis, Washington. In July 1946, Tom was separated from active duty, to inactive, in the Army Reserve, Oregon Military District, Fort Vancouver, Washington.
In February 1950, he joined the 104th Infantry Division, 929th Field Artillery Battalion, in Salem, Oregon, serving as Battery Commander, S-4, S-3, EXO, and Battalion Commander. He was promoted to Major on 11 December 1953 and to Lieutenant Colonel on 20 March 1958. In June 1959, the 104th Division became a training division and Tom’s battalion headquarters became headquarters for the 414th Regiment. Colonel Nelson became the regimental Commander and Tom was the regimental Executive Officer.
Colonel Nelson’s employer moved him to Florida and Tom became the Commanding Officer on 18 October 1962. Tom had one summer camp at Fort Ord, California, and two at Camp Roberts, California. Since he did not have Command and General Staff training at Fort Leavenworth, he could not be promoted to full Colonel, so he was relieved of duty in August 1965. In April 1966, Tom was ordered to the 364th Civil Affairs unit in Portland as Commerce and Industry Officer, then became a Property Control Officer.
In May 1970, Tom retired and transferred to the Retired Reserve U.S. Army. He was honored with a parade at Fort Lewis, Washington, and awarded the Army Commendation Medal. All of this was a nice finale to a military career that began at ROTC at Oregon State College in 1938.
Tom’s military career was so eventful that it is difficult to imagine how he found time to enjoy life as a family man and civilian. But, find time he did. Tom met Mary Bloom in Albany during the summer of 1943 and they married on December 17, 1943, at the Hector Farm in Granger, Oregon. Tom and Mary had five children: Richard, Kenneth, Carol, Christine, and Roger. Tom and Mary were married for nearly forty-six years before her death in 1992.
In July 1946, Tom was employed as a loan officer for the Federal Land Bank making farm loans in Salem, Medford, and The Dalles, Oregon. In July 1949, he joined the staff of the Travelers Insurance Company in Salem, Oregon, working in the real estate loan department on farm, ranch, and timber loans. He became an Accredited Rural Appraiser in the American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers. He was president of the Oregon Chapter of the Society from 1967 to 1968 and also an Oregon real estate broker.
Tom had been a member of the American Legion since 1946, a member of the Elks since 1964, and Rotary since 1973. He also belonged to numerous other military and professional organizations.
He passed away on March 5, 2016, surrounded by his family, and just shy of his 96th birthday.