On the 2nd of April, 1984, Thomas was born and he grew up in Batesburg-Leesville and Lugoff, South Carolina. After graduating high school in 2002, he enlisted in the US Army and went on to complete the Basic Airborne Course at Fort Benning, Georgia, as well as the Ranger Indoctrination Program in early 2003. Once assigned to 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment, Thomas was a team leader as well as a sniper until late 2007. He then was assigned to the US Army Special Operations Command and would serve not only as a team member but also as an assistant team Sergeant, team Sergeant, and instructor.

In 2012, Thomas, then a Sergeant First Class, and Kevin Foutz, then a Master Sergeant, participated as a team in the 29th Annual David E Grange Jr Best Ranger Competition and won the three day event. Thomas did this just two years after being wounded by a grenade in Afghanistan. Three years later, he would find himself deployed to northern Iraq as part of a hostage rescue mission and it was his actions that would initially earn him the Distinguished Service Cross. The Medal of Honor upgraded citation reads:

For conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty: Sergeant First Class Thomas P. Payne distinguished himself by conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity, above and beyond the call of duty, on October 22, 2015, during a daring nighttime hostage rescue in Kirkuk Province, Iraq, in support of Operation INHERENT RESOLVE. Sergeant Payne led a combined assault team charged with clearing one of two buildings known to house the hostages. With speed, audacity, and courage, he led his team as they quickly cleared the assigned building, liberating 38 hostages. Upon hearing a request for additional assaulters to assist with clearing the other building, Sergeant Payne, on his own initiative, left his secured position, exposing himself to enemy fire as he bounded across the compound to the other building from which entrenched enemy forces were engaging his comrades. Sergeant Payne climbed a ladder to the building’s roof, which was partially engulfed in flames, and engaged enemy fighters below with grenades and small arms fire. He then moved back to ground level to engage the enemy forces through a breach hole in the west side of the building. Knowing time was running out for the hostages trapped inside the burning building, Sergeant Payne moved to the main entrance, where heavy enemy fire had thwarted previous attempts to enter. He knowingly risked his own life by bravely entering the building under intense enemy fire, enduring smoke, heat, and flames to identify the armored door imprisoning the hostages. Upon exiting, Sergeant Payne exchanged his rifle for bolt cutters, and again entered the building, ignoring the enemy rounds impacting the walls around him as he cut the locks on a complex locking mechanism. His courageous actions motivated the coalition assault team members to enter the breach and assist with cutting the locks. After exiting to catch his breath, he reentered the building to make the final lock cuts, freeing 37 hostages. Sergeant Payne then facilitated the evacuation of the hostages, even though ordered to evacuate the collapsing building himself, which was now structurally unsound due to the fire. Sergeant Payne then reentered the burning building one last time to ensure everyone had been evacuated. He consciously exposed himself to enemy automatic gunfire each time he entered the building. His extraordinary heroism and selfless actions were key to liberating 75 hostages during a contested rescue mission that resulted in 20 enemies killed in action. Sergeant First Class Payne’s gallantry under fire and uncommon valor are in keeping with the highest traditions of military service and reflect great credit upon himself, the United States Special Operations Command, and the United States Army.

This mission has been said to be one of the largest hostage rescues in Special Operations history. Master Sergeant Josh Wheeler had been killed during the mission and Thomas would later recall that “…Wheeler knew what had to be done. He looked back at another teammate and gave the order ‘on me’ and ran to the sound of the guns.”

Thomas went on to attend and graduate from Norwich University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Strategic Studies and Defense Analysis in 2017. He had met Alison when recovering in 2010 and they were later married and now have three children, one of which is named Josh in honor of Josh Wheeler. In 2019, Thomas learned of the upgrade of his Distinguished Service Cross to the Medal of Honor and in a ceremony at the White House on the 11th of September, 2020, he received the Medal from President Trump, becoming the third member of Delta Force to have received the Medal of Honor and the first to have not received it posthumously (the other two were Master Sergeant Gary Gordon and Sergeant First Class Randy Shughart from the Battle of Mogadishu). Thomas Patrick Payne has deployed seventeen times over his 19 years in service and is one of three Medal of Honor recipients to still be actively serving.