Thompson, Erwin N., 1926-1998

Erwin N. “T” Thompson was born on August 18, 1926, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, the son of a Canadian army veteran of World War I. He grew up in Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada, and served in the Royal Canadian Navy for the duration of World War II. In 1947, drawn by an interest in military life he moved to Boston and enlisted in the U.S. Army. Early in 1949, following basic training, he was bound for Okinawa, Japan, as part of the postwar occupation forces.

Erwin returned from overseas and attended the University of California at Los Angeles, where he majored in history (military, American, and Far East) and minored in political science. Following graduation in 1960, he was hired as park historian at Whitman Mission National Monument near Walla Walla, Washington. He served at Whitman Mission and Fort Davis, Texas until 1965, when he joined the Division of History Studies in the Washington, D.C., Planning and Service Center.

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