U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs Health Care Center in Tallahassee Renamed After Monticello Serviceman

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Today, U.S. Rep. Al Lawson (FL-05) joined U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) to rename the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs Health Care Center in Tallahassee in honor of Marine Corps Sgt. Ernest “Boots” Thomas. The legislation, introduced by Rep. Lawson and Sen. Nelson, was signed into law in June.

A 1941 graduate of Monticello High School, Thomas joined the Marines in 1942 shortly after the U.S. was attacked at Pearl Harbor. On February 23, 1945, he led his platoon to raise the first flag on Iwo Jima. Eight days after the first flag raising and just short of his 21st birthday, Sgt. Thomas was killed leading his men into combat on the North End of Iwo Jima atop Mount Suribachi. Thomas was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross for extraordinary heroism and the Purple Heart. An image taken shortly after the second flag raising on Iwo Jima was used as the inspiration for the U.S. Marine Corps War Memorial that now overlooks the nation’s capital in Arlington, Va.