Thomas Tinsley “Tommie” (Tommie T. "Pops") Daniels was born on November 8, 1903 in Texas. He served in the 28th Materiel Squadron, 20th Air Base Group as a Private during World War II and at the time he was a POW. An American prisoner of war, he was one of the Japanese massacre victims in Puerto Princesa, Palawan Philippines. In order to prevent the rescue of prisoners of war by the advancing Allies, on 14 December 1944, units of the Japanese Fourteenth Area Army (under the command of General Tomoyuki Yamashita) brought the POWs back to their own camp. An air raid warning was sounded to get the prisoners into the shelter trenches, the 150 prisoners of war at Puerto Princesa entered those trenches, and the Japanese soldiers set them on fire using barrels of gasoline. Prisoners who tried to escape the flames were shot down by machine gun fire. Others attempted to escape by climbing over a cliff that ran along one side of the trenches, but were later hunted down and killed. Only 11 men escaped the slaughter; 139 were killed. Those that did escape to southern Palawan, and eventual rescue, were aided by Filipino scouts and guerrillas under the command of Nazario Mayor. Thomas was one of the 11 prisoners who escaped from the massacre. He died on January 20, 1963 at the age of 59 in Titus County, Texas and is now buried in the DeShield Cemetery, Titus County, Texas, USA. His unit on his headstone is 1040 Base Unit AAF, signifying that he went back to the service, with the unit after the Palawan massacre.

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