Pace Receives Tompkins Award

by Moises I. Gomez, 33°, MSA

On March 31, 2023, I had the distinct honor of joining Ill. Douglas R. Policastro, Grand Secretary General and Deputy of NJ, in awarding Bro. Thurman C. Pace, 33°, Active Emeritus, the Daniel Tompkins Award for his 50 years of distinguished service to the Scottish Rite.

Illustrious Brother Pace has not only served his Brethren in the Rite but heroically served his country during World War II, as did his father in World War I, and his grandfather in the Civil War.

He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1943 and was sent to Fort McPherson in Georgia and Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri for training. He was assigned to the 2nd Platoon, Company D of the 28th Engineering Training Battalion. Soon after, he transferred to Fort Campbell in Kentucky and joined the 2nd Platoon, A Troop, 33rd Cavalry Reconnaissance Squadron, Mechanized of the 20th Armored Division.

He traveled to Boston where he boarded the USS Brazil for deployment to the European Theater. The ship, cramped with over 5,000 soldiers, took 11 days to sail the Atlantic while avoiding U-Boats to reach LeHavre, France.

Ill. Bro. Pace served in France, Belgium, Holland, and Germany, and was assigned to General Patton’s Third Army. His unit, along with many others, spearheaded Patton’s Army in the relief of the besieged 101st Airborne Division at the Battle of the Bulge.

On April 29, 1945, he was one of the first soldiers to come upon and liberate the Dachau concentration camp. Records indicate that the SS had planned to kill all the Jews in this camp to hide their previous atrocities. The U.S. army’s early arrival and liberation of this camp saved thousands of lives.

In August of 1945, Bro. Pace arrived back in New York City for much-needed rest but was informed shortly afterward that he would be sent to the Pacific Theater to fight against the Japanese Empire. Just prior to departing, he learned of a powerful bomb that was dropped on August 6th, a second bomb on August 9th, and then the unconditional surrender of the Empire of Japan on August 15th.

Some 40 years later, Ill. Brother Pace obtained declassified documents containing the battle plan for the invasion of Japan, which showed that his 20th Armored Division was slated to be the first armored division to be deployed for the landing invasion.

Our Illustrious Brother was honorably discharged on March 15, 1946. He is 99 years young and is a member of the Valley of Northern New Jersey.