Thomas James McNeally
Era: World War II
Military Branch: Navy
Photo: Mr. McNeally in Tanis, Egypt, in 1939, with crewmates.
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Thomas McNeally served in World War II in the Pacific Theater.
He served in the U.S. Navy from 1939 until 1945. In 1939, he and some crewmates visited Egypt. They saw the pyramids in the "lost city" of Tanis, where King Tutankhamun and many other ancient rulers were buried.
In December 1941, Mr. McNeally was serving in the Pacific on a Navy tanker. He was 21 years old. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, the loudspeaker on his ship blared the message, "Japs hit! Japs hit! Japs hit! Turn back--we're going after the Japs!"
Mr. McNeally served in the Navy until shortly after the bombing of Hiroshima in 1945. He was discharged in 1945.
