Joseph Benjamin Thomas

Trooper Joseph Thomas and Trooper Robert Porter were killed in an airplane accident in Allmondsville, Gloucester County, Virginia, after delivering a message to the family of a drowning victim that the woman's body had been found. The troopers had dropped a tablet containing the note in the family's yard and were attempting to ascend when the Aeronca Champion single-engine plane stalled and crashed into a yard along the York River. Trooper Thomas was piloting the airplane at the time. Trooper Thomas was a World War II veteran survived by his wife, mother, sister, and brother. His brother also served with the Virginia State Police.