US Army Private Thomas Joshua Coker was born in Pensacola, Florida on September 10, 1918, the son of Benjamin Franklin Coker (1879-1959) and Irene Bonifay (1882-1976). His father married Irene in 1909, the only daughter of a local merchant Benito Moreno Bonifay and Faustina Collins. His father supported the family through his family-owned jewelry store at #9 East Intendencia Street called the Southern Jewelry Store.
By 1932, his brother Benjamin F. Jr. graduated from Pensacola High School whereas Thomas would graduate in 1937 from St. Michael's High School. The following year he went to work as a messenger for the Western Union Telegraph Company. On February 6, 1939, he married Annie Mae Bobe from the Pensacola High School Class of 1937. She was born in Denver, Colorado and moved here with her family before 1930. Following their marriage, they set up house at 917 East Lee Street and Thomas went to work for the Railway Express Agency at the L&N Depot.
But it was not long before America became embroiled in WWII after Pearl Harbor. Therefore, Thomas did his patriotic duty and enlisted on July 10, 1944 at Camp Blanding, Florida. After his processing and basic training, he arrived overseas on December 18, 1944. Immediately upon arrival, he was sent to Company "G" of the 327th Infantry Regiment of the 101st Airborne Division. This unit consisted of paratroopers that flew into a combat zone in gliders. But just two days before his arrival, a huge German counterattack had struck the American lines that became known as the Battle of the Bulge. Thomas and his regiment were thrust into the town of Bastogne and ordered to hold the crossroads at all costs. They held out against all odds for nine days before being relieved by General George S. Patton.
After a short respite, the regiment drove into the Germans through Alsace and the Ruhr valley like a bulldog on January 18, 1945. It was here that Private Thomas Joshua Coker was killed in action on February 6, 1945. His remains were processed and buried in a military cemetery in Lorraine, France where they rest today. A telegram was sent to his parents on February 18, 1945 at 1521 North Ninth Avenue, notifying them of his courageous death. And because of his death, his older brother was banned from being sent overseas with the US Army Air Corps to prevent his parents from losing their only surviving son.
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