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Pfc George B. Thomas enlisted in Providence, Rhode Island on 20 December 1943.

His unit was engaged in battle with German forces near Hürtgen, Germany, in the Hürtgen Forest, when he was reported missing in action on 24 November 1944. His body was not recovered during the battle, and the Germans never reported him as a prisoner of war. The War Department issued a finding of death on 25 November 1945.
Following the end of the war, the American Graves Registration Command was tasked with investigating and recovering missing American personnel in Europe. They conducted several investigations in the Hürtgen area between 1946 and 1950 but were unable to identify Thomas’ remains. He was declared nonrecoverable on 21 February 1951.

While studying unresolved American losses in the Hürtgen area, a DPAA historian determined that Thomas could be associated to one of two sets of unidentified comingled remains, designated X-7192 Neuville and X-7193 Neuville, which had been recovered together from a field south of Hürtgen in 1948. The remains, which had been buried in Ardennes American Cemetery in 1950, were disinterred in July 2021 and sent to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, for analysis and identification.

To identify Thomas’ remains, scientists from DPAA used anthropological analysis, as well as circumstantial evidence. Additionally, scientists from the Armed Forces Medical Examiner System used mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis.

Thomas’ name is recorded on the Tablets of the Missing at Henri-Chapelle American Cemetery. A rosette has been placed next to his name to indicate he has been accounted for.

Pfc Thomas was buried at Rhode Island Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Exeter, Rhode Island on 10 July 2023.