Thomas J. Myer Jr., stockbroker and decorated veteran

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Thomas J. Myer Jr., 92, of Chestnut Hill, a retired stockbroker and a decorated war veteran, died Sept. 9 at Keystone House in Wyndmoor.

Mr. Myer retired as an investment advisor in 2000 after working at several Philadelphia brokerage houses and, more recently, on his own.

He had served in the Marines in both World War II and the Korean War, and was awarded a Bronze Star, a Silver Star and two Purple Hearts for his service in the latter conflict.

He joined the Marines after graduating from St. Joseph's Preparatory School in 1942. He was among the first wave of Marines to hit the beach in Okinawa in 1943 and later witnessed the destruction of Nagasaki when he patrolled the city after the dropping of the second atomic bomb.

He was recalled to the Marines during the Korean War, promoted to lieutenant and sent to the front lines north of the Chosin Reservoir during the winter of 1950 when his Marine division was surrounded by the Chinese Army in a surprise attack. In a deliberate retrograde movement, the Marines turned and fought for 17 days and nights down a narrow road through several mountain passes until reaching transport ships waiting at the coast and were evacuated with their equipment and wounded and fallen comrades.

Mr. Myer was awarded the Silver Star for leading a team of Marines behind the firing lines to capture an enemy general. He was awarded the Bronze Star for saving his platoon by leading them away from an enemy onslaught by crossing a minefield. He encouraged his men to step in the imprints of his boots, knowing any step could have been his last.

He was wounded twice in the war and was awarded two Purple Hearts.

Mr. Myer received a bachelor's degree from Villanova University in 1949.

He was a member of the Union League, a lifetime member of both the Pennsylvania Society of Sons of the Revolution and the Colonial Society, and a member of the Penllyn Club.

A lifetime resident of Chestnut Hill, he rode the Chestnut Hill West train to Center City from the St. Martin's Station for 50 years.

He is survived by his wife of 59 years, the former Mary Anne “Polly” McNelis; daughters Julia Carroll Myer Ward, Anne Anastasia Myer Politzi and Mary Cassandra Myer Surer, and six grandchildren.

A funeral Mass was held Sept. 19 at Our Mother of Consolation Church in Chestnut Hill.

Memorial donations may be made to the Veterans Administration. – WF

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