John Thacker was born on August 9, 1918, in Petersburg, Virginia. He enlisted in the Aviation Cadet Program of the U.S. Army Air Corps on March 21, 1940, and was commissioned a 2d Lt and awarded his pilot wings at Randolph Field, Texas, on February 16, 1941. Lt Thacker was then assigned to the 46th Pursuit Squadron (later renamed Fighter Squadron) of the 15th Pursuit Group (later renamed Fighter Group) at Wheeler Field, Hawaii, and later at Hickam Field, Mokuleia Field, and Hilo Field, Hawaii, and on the islands of Canton and Makin in the Pacific, from February 1941 to April 1944. During this time, Lt Thacker became one of the few fighter pilots to get airborne during the attack on Pearl Harbor and he was later credited with the destruction of 1 enemy aircraft in aerial combat on January 16, 1944. Thacker returned to the U.S. in April 1944, and served as a flight instructor and air inspector in Idaho, Louisiana, and Kansas, for the remainder of the war. After the war, he served as an inactivation officer in Colorado until May 1946, and then served at Selfridge Field, Michigan, until June 1946. Col Thacker next served as the commander of the 87th Fighter Squadron of the 79th Fighter Group in Austria from August 1946 to April 1947, and then as the commander of the 79th Fighter Group and base air inspector until transferring to the 86th Fighter Group at Neubiberg AB, Germany, in July 1947. He commanded the 527th Fighter Squadron of the 86th Fighter Group from January to October 1948, and then Personnel Officer and Executive Officer of the 33rd Fighter Wing at Otis AFB, Massachusetts, until July 1950, when he deployed to Korea at the outbreak of the Korean War. Col Thacker served with the 18th Fighter-Bomber Wing from July to September 1950, and then as Chief of Operations and Plans with the 315th Air Division until June 1951. His next assignment was as deputy commander, executive officer, and then commander of the 51st Fighter Interceptor Group in Korea from June to November 1951, and then deputy commander of the 51st Fighter Interceptor Wing from November 1951 to January 1952. He served as material officer, training and operations officer, deputy commander, and then commander of the 3625th Flying Training Wing at Tyndall AFB, Florida, from February 1952 to March 1955, followed by service as Assistant for Logistics with Headquarters Air Transport Command at Scott AFB, Illinois, until August 1957. Col Thacker was executive officer and then deputy commander of the 3555th Combat Crew Training Wing at Perrin AFB, Texas, from August 1957 to January 1960, and after completing foreign service training, he served as Chief of the U.S. Air Force Mission to Columbia, from July 1960 to September 1963. His next assignment was as an Air Force advisor to the New Jersey Air National Guard from September 1963 to January 1968, followed by service as Inspector General with Headquarters Command at Bolling AFB, Washington, D.C. from January 1968 until his retirement from the Air Force on March 1, 1970. John Thacker died on March 6, 2009.

His Silver Star Citation reads:

For gallantry in action as a Pilot of the 46th Pursuit Squadron, 15th Pursuit Group, over the Island of Oahu, Territory of Hawaii, and waters adjacent thereto, on 7 December 1941. When surprised by a heavy air attack by Japanese forces on Wheeler Field and vicinity at approximately 8 a.m., Second Lieutenant Thacker proceeded by automobile to the hangar line where he joined a flight of pursuit aircraft which took off from Wheeler Field for the purpose of attacking the invading forces, without first obtaining information as to the number or type of Japanese in the attacking forces. The flight encountered an enemy formation of six aircraft in the vicinity of Bellows Field, and though the enemy force was numerically superior, Lieutenant Thacker and other members of the flight immediately attacked the enemy formation. He remained in the attack until after his guns became jammed. Lieutenant Thacker returned his plane safely to Wheeler Field though it had been hit by cannon fire during the encounter. Lieutenant Thacker's initiative, presence of mind, coolness under fire against overwhelming odds in this first battle, expert maneuvering of his plane, and determined action contributed to a large extent toward driving off this sudden enemy air attack.