From soldier to storyteller: A look back at Army veteran Patrick Thomas’ life

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — Patrick Thomas starts every day in the newsroom, dark and early at 4:00 a.m. Then, he gets to business.

Spending hours in his office and in the field, Thomas is in charge of the entire photography fleet at the news station. He’s WGNO’s chief photographer, a position he takes great honor in.

He’s not only the chief photographer, but he’s also the first Black chief photographer at WGNO. 2025 is the 20-year anniversary of being chief. “It makes me feel good, I mean, it doesn’t change the fact that I love my job,” said Thomas.

But before WGNO, and before becoming a photographer, Thomas had a very different life. Growing up in Lafayette, he was heavily involved in church. Prior to graduating from Holy Rosary Institute, he met someone who would change his life.

“I remember a recruiter coming to the class and coming to the school and talking about the Army,” said Thomas.

In 1978, Thomas enlisted in the Army. Basic training was over 700 miles away in Fort Gordon, Georgia.

“First day in the Army, while on the bus, the drill sergeant gets on the bus and basically at the top of his lungs is yelling and I think right then and there it was kind of like oh my god what did I do,” said Patrick.

Once off the bus, it was a fast-paced training environment preparing Thomas for what was to come – an active-duty tour in Germany.

For three years, he served as a Tactical Wire Operation Specialist with the Second Battalion 81st Field Artillery.

“We just ran communication to our battery to our alpha bravo and charlie units, tank units. I worked out of this vehicle that was called a gamma goat. It’s a six-wheel vehicle and that vehicle would take us anywhere.”

In 1981, Thomas received an honorable discharge. Back at home, he wanted to help provide for his family. An unlikely tip turned into a job interview from the news director at KLFY in Lafayette.

“At the end of the interview, she asked me did I know how to use a camera? And I said, well no. She said have you ever used a camera to take pictures like portraits. I said yeah, I’ve done that before. She said I’ll tell you what, I’ll bring you on for two weeks and see how you do and then we will go from there,” Thomas explained that’s where his career in news started.

For seven years, he was a photographer at KLFY. A short stint in Seattle and then a few years at KATC later, in 1996, Thomas was hired on at WGNO.

He covered the devastating stories following Hurricane Katrina, high-profile crimes, politics and soon enough, he found himself in a position he never dreamed of.

“My news director chose me to be the chief photographer at WGNO in November of 2005.”

Fast forward to 2025, Thomas traded the gamma goat for what is now his office.

He’s used skills he’s learned from the Army for the last 20 years to lead his small army of photographers at WGNO.

Latest Posts