Photos by and of Sergeant Roger Thomas

The father of A Hoosier Scientist arrived in India late in the war. After his discharge, he talked proudly about the brief time he spent loading C-47s for flights “Over the Hump” to China. I remember just one conversation in which he talked reluctantly about doing the work for which he was trained: handling mustard agent and other toxic weapons. He asked me as a university physics student if the containers he helped dump into the Bay of Bengal actually sank to the bottom, or if they drifted at a depth where the pressure was great enough to support their weight.

I found the photos below after he died. I am confident (but can’t quite prove) he was attached to the 771st Chemical Depot Company at Ondal. The photos he took of specialized vehicles are unique and likely a security violation. Other photos simply offer insight into what he considered worth attention and safe to photograph.

Click on the photo to see or download a larger version.