On September 11, 2001, Thomas was dropping his daughter off at the home of his mother on Long Island when she told him planes had struck the towers. The 27-year-old Thomas, having left active duty in August 2001, quickly put on his Marine uniform, sped to Manhattan, and had just parked his car when the North Tower of the World Trade Center collapsed. Thomas told the Associated Press: Thomas ran into another former Marine, Staff Sgt. David Karnes. Thomas presented a plan for a search-and-rescue mission of the area, and he and Karnes tried to enlist other marines and soldiers on site to help. When they were told the mission was too dangerous, they decided to go by themselves. "I found a couple guys, but it wasn't enough, to them, to start a search and rescue," he said. "I remember myself and Karnes saying, 'We're going to start the search and rescue with or without you, because someone needs us.'" Carrying little more than an infantryman's shovel, they climbed the mountain of debris, skirting dangerous crevasses and shards of red-hot metal, calling out, "Is anyone down there? United States Marines!" It was dark before they heard a response. They met an operating engineer, who had a flashlight, and crawled down into the hole where the 2 cops were trapped, and spoke with Will. Then the engineer climbed out, and went for help, and brought back the FDNY. Thomas said he returned to Ground Zeroevery day to pitch in, before attempting to put the events behind him. He did not even tell his five children about his rescues. He had identified himself to Karnes and others only as "Sergeant Thomas". Thomas served in the United States Air Force as a medical technician since 2006.
Thomas was portrayed in Oliver Stone's feature filmWorld Trade Center by William Mapother. This portrayal by a white actor generated controversy, although the producers claimed that they were unaware that the real Thomas was black until they had already started filming. On February 11, 2007, aired a special two-hour episode about Thomas and his family. Following the attacks, Thomas and his wife had moved their four children from New York to Whitehall, Ohio. The house they bought began to deteriorate and the show intervened to help them. On September 2, 2013, Channel 4 broadcast The Lost Hero of 9/11 which detailed Thomas involvement in the rescue operation following the collapse of both towers.
After 9/11
As of 2018, Thomas was living in Whitehall, Ohio with his wife Kirsti and their children. He works as an officer for the Ohio Supreme Court as well as being a Technical Sergeant in the United States Air Force.
