By Susan Couso
Thomas ‘Tommy’ Tucker is one of those people whose memory quite possibly would have disappeared into the past if it were not for his death at a young age and the tragic circumstances.
He died while serving his country as a soldier in WWI at only 24-years old. Although I’m sure it was not his intent, he was the first soldier from Lassen County to be killed in this awful conflict.
The month and day of his birth was not recorded, but he listed his birth-year as 1894, and his place of birth as Prattville, Plumas County.
Tucker’s mother was a young Maidu girl named Flora, and his father was a ‘white man’ named Warney Holmes. This was most likely a man named William Warren Holmes, who lived in Plumas County at the time, but we will never know for sure. Flora later married Billy Dick, and had two daughters, but she died young.
He continued to live with his step-father and step-sisters, until coming to Susanville to live with his uncle and aunt, Cap and Emma Dehaven. Information from that time, and especially information concerning Native American history, is scarce, but it is most likely that Emma DeHaven was Tucker’s mother’s sister. As he signed papers for WWI service, he listed Cap DeHaven as his nearest relative.
Tucker attended Greenville Indian School and the tall, slender boy, with black eyes and black hair, is reported to have excelled in sports. When he enlisted in the Army at age of 23, he stated that he was a student. But his dreams were cut short on the battlefields of France while serving with the 363rd Infantry. He was buried at the American Battlefield Cemetery at Chateau de Salvagnac.
In Lassen County, the news of his death brought the war closer with a jolt. In his honor, Thomas Tucker, Post 204, of the American Legion was named.
Cap DeHaven worked to have Tucker returned home, and on September 18th, 1921, services for a young hero were held in Susanville while his body was laid to rest.
The Lassen Mail newspaper, from September 30th, 1921 states:
THOMAS TUCKER SERVICES HELD LAST SUNDAY
“Susanville witnessed its first military funeral last Sunday when the members of the Thomas Tucker Post of the American Legion followed to the grave the remains of the comrade for whom the post is named. Thomas Tucker was a Lassen county Indian boy who entered the service of his country during the world war. He was one of those who ‘got across’ and he lost his life on the fields of France during the fierce German drives in the Fall of 1918. The body was brought from France at the request of Cap DeHaven who wished that fitting honor should be paid to him for the supreme sacrifice he made.”
Tommy Tucker was a young man with determination and courage who is still remembered today by those who never knew him.
