CPL Thomas SHAY, twin brother of John SHAY, served in the U.S. Army from January 3, 1949 until March 28, 1952 with the 2nd Chemical Mortar Battalion assigned to the 8th Army in Korea. He was awarded the Korean Presidential and American Presidential Citations, the Korean Defense Ribbon, Asiatic-Pacific Ribbon, Combat Infantryman Badge, Expert Rifle Badge plus five battle stars. He later received a silver a silver battle star.

The following appeared in a Chicago newspaper.

Somewhere in Korea
February 22 (Reuters)

Cpl. Thomas Edward SHAY of Maloy, Iowa is the envy of the British Commonwealth brigade in Korea: He's got an umbrella. SHAY, one of the serveral American mortar men attached to the brigade, said he picked it up in a Korean's house last week because, "I reckoned it might come in handy one day." Today while rain cascaded down, SHAY sat placidly under the umbrella. The brigade, which included English, Scotch, Australian, Indian and New Zealand units, moved into the sector Wednesday in the face of heavy opposition. They had no transport vehicles and rain had turned the clay soil into a quagmire. Trailing after the troops came 450 South Korean laborers, equipped with frames to enable them to carry on their backs the food, munitions and equipment the brigade needs. SHAY is the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. C. SHAY of Maloy.

SOURCE: Maloy Centennial book, p. 89-90

Submission by Sharon R. Becker, April of 2010