THOMAS J. MITCHELL, CAPT, USN
Thomas Mitchell '53
Lucky Bag
From the 1953 Lucky Bag:
THOMAS JEROME MITCHELL
Houston, Texas
"Big Mitch" was born in the land of movie stars, Hollywood. He came to the Academy from the Lone Star State which he adopted for home. After two years at Texas A. & M. Mitch jumped into Academy life with at least a will in succeed. Commonly called "The All-American Boy" for his athletic versatility and good habits. Mitch rowed a year in the first plebe shell, but later switched to soccer where his rugged frame was put to good use. Mitch was famous for his 1700 words-to-a-page letters. Having a great aversion to parallel rules and sea duty, Mitch hopes to find a long hitch ashore in Air Force Blue or Marine Green.
THOMAS JEROME MITCHELL
Houston, Texas
"Big Mitch" was born in the land of movie stars, Hollywood. He came to the Academy from the Lone Star State which he adopted for home. After two years at Texas A. & M. Mitch jumped into Academy life with at least a will in succeed. Commonly called "The All-American Boy" for his athletic versatility and good habits. Mitch rowed a year in the first plebe shell, but later switched to soccer where his rugged frame was put to good use. Mitch was famous for his 1700 words-to-a-page letters. Having a great aversion to parallel rules and sea duty, Mitch hopes to find a long hitch ashore in Air Force Blue or Marine Green.
Loss
Thomas was killed on April 13, 1974 when his car was ambushed in the Philippines by a communist group.
Other Information
From the July-August 1974 issue of Shipmate:
Cdr. Thomas Jerome Mitchell (CEC) USN, died on 13 April in Subic Bay, Philippines, in an ambush.
A native of Hollywood, Cal., Cdr. Mitchell graduated from the Naval Academy in 1953. Further schooling included the CES Qual. Course at RPI Troy, N.Y., where he received his BCE; Advanced Nuclear Power Course, U.S. Navy Submarine School, New London, Conn.; and the Advanced Civil Engineering Course at Stanford University, where he received his MSCE. Cdr. Mitchell was the first CEC officer to graduate from the Advanced Nuclear Power Course, U.S. Navy Sub School and the first OIC PM-3A Nuclear Power Plant, McMurdo Sound, Antarctica. His other tours included duty in USS Knapp; at BuDocks; at PWC Peari; at CO, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion One; as an instructor at the Naval War College, R.I.; at the Naval Facilities Engineering Command, East Central Div.; and at the Naval Shipyard, Phila. His last duty was a CO, 30th Naval Construction Regiment, Guam.
Cdr. Mitchell had the National Defense Service Medal, the Korean Service Medal, the United Nations Medal and the Antarctic Service Medal.
Surviving are his widow, Lois, Qtrs. 2108, Apt. D, Philadelphia, PA 19112; a son, Thomas Niles; and a daughter Lee Elizabeth.
The ambush was conducted by a group called the New Peoples Army, a communist group in the Philippines. Two other Navy officers were also killed.
Photographs
From the July-August 1974 issue of Shipmate.
Memorial Hall Error
Tom is listed incorrectly in Memorial Hall as killed in action during the Vietnam War.
Related Articles
Charles Jeffries, II '67 was also killed in this attack.
Thomas is one of 62 members of the Class of 1953 on Virtual Memorial Hall.
The "category" links below lead to lists of related Honorees; use them to explore further the service and sacrifice of alumni in Memorial Hall.
