2LT John Thomas, ‘24
The Fulbright Commission awarded John a scholarship to the Netherlands to study Humanitarianism Interventions and Atrocity Prevention. John was graduated with an International History major with a German minor. In his final year at West Point, John led the Army Model U.N. team as it took part in debate competitions around the globe. He also volunteered as a writing coach in the Mounger Writing Center. A student in both XH 405, The Holocaust and its Legacy and XH 415, Genocide and Mass Atrocity, John was a regular fixture in the Center-led trip sections to the Holocaust Museum and the JSAMAPS. He also took part in in the American Service Academies Program (ASAP) and the Department of History’s Normandy Staff Ride.
While studying abroad in Germany last year, John published a research article in the Department’s undergraduate history journal, Report, about Native American Boarding Schools and U.S. Army history. John won a range of awards. For his honors thesis on the importance of mid-level bureaucrats and civil-military relations in the UN peacekeeping operation in the Congo in the 1960s, John was awarded the Friends of the West Point Library Award for Excellence in Research and Writing. He was also the top overall History major. Like Alexis Bradstreet, Dr. Frey taught him as a plebe. John took all the courses offered through the Resnick Center; participated in the American Service Academies Program, an intensive study of the Holocaust in Poland; and presented twice at the JSAMAPS. John commissioned into the Military Intelligence branch this spring and will return to the Resnick Center to be a summer intern in July. He will work on development of a country assessment of Sudan to be used in XH 415 this fall, as well as assist with Dallaire Case Study preparation or revision of the Ukraine Country Assessment. In September, John will continue his studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands, where he will research the ethics of humanitarianism and civil-military relations in the U.N. intervention in the Bosnian Genocide. After serving as a Military Intelligence Officer in the U.S. Army, John plans to pursue service in the State Department.
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