HALIFAX, Mass. — Thomas W. Stewart, 83, of Halifax, Mass., passed from this life on Tuesday, June 9, 2009.

He was born on Nov. 30, 1925 in Boston, Mass., to John and Euphemia Stewart, both immigrants of Scotland.

Raised in Cambridge, Mass., he enlisted in the U.S. Army in early 1942 at 16 years of age. He served with Troop F of the 12th Cavalry Regiment and was stationed along the Texas-Mexico border before being sent to Australia to retrain as a rifleman in the infantry. Serving in World War II, he took part as a rifleman in the campaigns against Japanese invaders in New Guinea, the Bismarck Archipelago, the Philippine islands of Leyte and Luzon, and in the Occupation of Japan. He was awarded the following military decorations: the Bronze Star, the Purple Heart and the Combat Infantry Badge; and the following campaign medals: the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with four battle stars and an arrowhead, the Philippine Liberation Ribbon with three battle stars, the Army of Occupation Medal with the Japan Clasp and the Victory Medal. The Army unit he was with made the Beach-head landing on Leyte in the Philippine Islands, and the unit was chosen to re-take Manila on the island of Luzon by Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Later, MacArthur chose this Army unit to be the first American troops to enter Tokyo, Japan while the general was signing the Articles of Surrender by the Japanese aboard the Battleship Missouri in Tokyo Bay. The unit was awarded the U.S. Presidential Unit Citation and the Philippine Presidential Unit Citation.

After World War II, he attended a school for electronics and for 45 years was employed as an electronic technician. During his employment with the Bose Corp., he provided hands-on support in the development of the Maverick Headphone program, the first two of which were used by the two-person crew that flew around the world non-stop. One headset is now with the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C. Prior to Bose, he was employed with the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory as a civilian with the U.S. Air Force and by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

He was a silver member of the U.S. Naval Institute; a former state representative of the U.S. Horse Cavalry Association; and a life member of the Disabled American Veterans.

Husband of the late Evelyn Coombes Stewart, he is survived by five children including Thomas W. Stewart Jr. of Pennsylvania, Susan J. (Stewart) Bernard of Pennsylvania, Ann L. Stewart of Massachusetts and Karen L. Stewart of New Hampshire. He leaves behind 15 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren.

The funeral will be held Monday at 10 a.m. at Mayflower Congregational Church, Kingston, Mass.

Interment will be in Massachusetts National Cemetery, Bourne.

Relatives and friends are kindly invited to attend both the funeral and interment.

Arrangements are under the direction of Shepherd Funeral Home, Pembroke, Mass.