User:Laurenlacey/sandbox

Thomas Robert Lacey (born April 12, 1952) is an American Aeronautical Engineer and World War II Veteran best known for his contributions on the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II as Chief Aerodynamicist.

=Early Life= Lacey was born on April 12, 1925 in Huntington, Indiana. He is the son of Mary Lacey (Zahm), a stay-at-home mother, and John Lacey, a writer and worker for the Farmer's Bureau. Tom is the oldest of 5 siblings: Joan, Bob, Eileen, Mary Jane, and John. Prior to finding his success in aeronautics, Tom attended St. Michael's Middle School in Wheaton, Illinois. In May of 1943, he graduated from Wheaton High School and immediately joined the US Army, believing World War II would be over by Christmas.

=Military Career= On July 15, 1943, Tom joined the US Army in Sheridan, Illinois. Tom began his military duty with 13 weeks of infantry basic training at Camp Fannin, Texas as part of the Army Specialized Training Program. As part of the program, Tom was sent to Louisiana State University to begin his engineering studies. However, after his first semester completed, Tom was called to serve in World War II along with his fellow cohorts. Tom served as part of the 99th Infantry Division (United States), 393rd Regiment, First Battalion, Company C.

His division arrived in England on 10 October 1944. They moved to Le Havre, France on the 3rd of November and continued on to Aubel, Belgium, to prepare to enter the front lines. Upon arriving in Europe, Tom volunteered as the Walkie Talkie Operator, adding an extra 40 pounds to carry and making him a target for the Germany's. Tom's division marched to the Siegfried Line and posted in the Hurtgen Forest.

On the 9th of November 1944, Tom fought in his first battle that would later be known as the Battle of Hurtgen Forest, which is the longest single battle the U.S. Army has ever fought. As a result of his division's efforts the Allies took control over 19 miles of the Roer River (between Schmidt and Monschau). On the 16th of December 1944, Tom experienced the heaviest artillery attack that would go on to last over a month and be known at the Battle of the Buldge. His division was one of the only divisions that did not yield to the German attack and held their positions. After the victory in the Battle of the Buldge, Tom's division moved father and father into Germany clearing multiple towns along the way. Tom was sent home a month before World War II ended receiving the Combat Infantryman Badge for his service. Once arriving home, he was released from the US Army on February 2nd, 1946 ending his 2 1/2 year service during World War II.

=Aeronautics Career= Immediately following his service in the military, Tom attended Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana to study aeronautical engineering. During Tom's time at school, he served as the president of the Purdue Glider Club for 2 years working to repair and fly full size gliders. In June of 1949, Tom graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Aeronautical Engineering Degree in the top 10% of this graduating class.

While at Purdue University, Tom was sought out by Douglas Aircraft Company for his leadership and academic successes. On the 15th of July 1949, Tom accepted Douglas Aircraft's offer and moved to Los Angeles, California. Tom entered the company as a design engineer on the drafting board, mainly working on designs for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk.

Longing to be back in the Midwest, Tom accepted a job at McDonnell Aircraft Corporation in the summer of 1951 in the Aerodynamics Department. Tom's first aircraft at McDonnell was the F3H Demon, where he worked on creating a better lateral control system for the fighter plane. After only a year with the company, Tom was transferred to the Advance Design group working on the F4 Phantom. He specifically worked on the wing and tail configuration to make the plane handle well for the fighter pilots. Tom worked in the Advance Design group for over 13 years making 12 major design changes to the F4 Phantom.

He was then placed on a new joint project between McDonnell and General Dynamics creating a new crew module for the F-111 Aardvark. The crew module was designed to create a livable environment for the pilot and co-pilot for over 3 days. It was believed at the time that 3 days should give military forces enough time to find a pilot and co-pilot if stuck down in flight.

After the merger of Douglas Aircraft Company and McDonnell Aircraft Corporation, [McDonnell-Douglas] took over the AV-8A Harrier program. Tom was appointed as the Chief Aerodynamicist for the program. When the project was handed over, the aircraft had major lateral control problems causing the plane to flip-upside-down when transitioning from vertical to horizontal thrust. In order to fix this fundamental problem, Tom and his team redesigned the general aircraft configuration and specifically the wing design. Tom served as the Chief Aerodynamicist on the program for over 12 years. The result of his efforts was the McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II.

=Personal Life= Tom met his wife, Clarabel Catherine Virginia Lacey (Schaeper) during the winter of 1952. At the time, Clarabel was a window dresser at Famous and Bar in downtown St. Louis, Missouri. Tom went on to marry Clarabel on May 2nd, 1953 at St. Peter's Church in St. Charles, Missouri. Three months after their wedding, the couple became pregnant. During their first 17 years of marriage, the couple had 14 children (7 boys and 7 girls): Mary (unborn), Joseph (unborn), John, Michael, Mary, Daniel, Jean, Rose, Theresa, Timothy, Carolyn, Thomas, Robert, and Maryann. The couple raised all 12 children in Weldon Springs Missouri. They were also foster parents to 2 children, foreign exchange host parents to 20 students, and gave a home to 3 homeless adults.

The couple has been married for over 50 years and maintain their residence in Weldon Springs, Missouri. They are the grandparents to 32 grandchildren.