Gerald Eustis Thomas

Gerald Eustis Thomas (born 23 June 1929), is a former American naval officer, diplomat and academic. He was the second African American to achieve the rank of Rear Admiral in the US Navy.

Thomas was born in Natick, Massachusetts, the son of Walter W. and Leila L. (née Jacobs) Thomas. He was educated at Natick High School, going on to spend a year studying at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln before transferring to Harvard University. He graduated from Harvard in 1951 with a Bachelor of Arts in Biochemical Sciences.

During his time at Harvard, Thomas had been a member of the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps and joined the navy immediately after graduation. He was commissioned as an Ensign on 1 June 1951, serving aboard USS Newman K. Perry (DDR-883) for three years, barring three months spent at the Destroyer Force, US Atlantic Fleet Engineering School in Newport, Rhode Island. In July 1954 he transferred to USS Worcester (CL-144).

Whilst assigned to the Worcester, he attended the Combat Information Center Watch Officer and Day Air Control School in Boston, Massachusetts. He then learned to speak Russian at the Defense Language Institute, qualifying as an interpreter in 1957 and serving at the National Security Agency in Fort Meade.

In June 1960 he was appointed Executive officer aboard USS Lowe (DER-325), and two years later, in February 1962, he was given his first command - that of USS Impervious (MSO-449). The following year he became commander of the College Training Program at the Bureau of Naval Personnel. In 1965 he was back in the Naval War College in Newport, where he was chosen as the 1965-66 Distinguished Graduate of the School of Naval Command and Staff.

In August 1966 he was given command of USS Bausell (DD-845) and saw active service in the Vietnam War. As a result of meritorious service between March 31 and October 15, 1967 he was awarded the Navy Commendation Medal with Combat V. Back on dry land, in April 1968 he became executive officer of the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps unit at Prairie View A&M College in Texas and was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal.

In 1973 he took command of Destroyer Squadron 9, concluding this command with his appointment as Rear Admiral in November 1974. He was the second African American to achieve this landmark, preceded only by Admiral Samuel L. Gravely, Jr.. The newly-promoted Rear Admiral became commander of Destroyer Squadron 5 before, in 1975 becoming the acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs, and then the Director of the Near East, South Asia and Africa region at the US Department of Defense in the following year. From 1978 he served as the senior Rear Admiral on the US Pacific Fleet before retiring from the navy in 1981.

Ronald Reagan appointed Thomas Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Guyana on 11 December 1981. There were rumours that Reagan considered moving Thomas to become Ambassador to El Salvador in June 1983, in order to have a military man in post in a region then suffering from insurgency, but changed his mind at the last minute. In the end, Thomas left Guyana on 6 September 1983, and was appointed Ambassador to Kenya a month later. He served in this capacity until leaving the diplomatic service on 29 September 1989.

Thomas continued to study throughout his naval career, gaining a Master of Science degree from George Washington University in 1966, and a PhD in Diplomatic History from Yale University in 1973. On returning from Kenya, he joined the faculty at Yale, teaching in the African American studies program and the history department. Thomas's friendly and approachable relationship with his students was an important factor in his selection as Master of Davenport College in 1991. Thomas served in this capacity for ten years before retiring in July 2001.

Dr Thomas is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity

He is married to Rhoda (née Henderson), and the couple have two sons and a daughter.