Thomas M. Rice (15 August 1921 – 17 November 2022) was a Staff Sergeant who served in the United States Army during World War II.

Tom was born on August 15, 1921, on a small wooden shack that his father, Marcus Rice built, in Coronado, California.

[1][3] He graduated from the Coronado High School in 1940 (he joined the U.S. Army the same year at Fort Rosecrans)[4] and then enrolled at the San Diego State College in 1943, being regarded there as a top tier athlete.

[2] Before enrolling at the San Diego State College, Tom Rice was present at Pearl Harbor during the attacks of 1941, this motivated him to enlist in the elite airborne parachute school.

[7] Tom was honorably discharged on December 21, 1945,[8] and soon after he resumed his studies at the San Diego State College and married Doris Rice.