Tuskegee Airman Sgt. Maj. Thomas Ellis passes

Stars & Stripes reports that Sergeant Major Thomas Ellis, one of the few remaining members of the Tuskegee Airmen has passed at the age of 97. Sergeant Major Ellis, originally a draftee, was an administrative clerk during his time with the legendary aviation unit;

Ordered to Tuskegee Army Airfield, Ellis was the only enlisted member in the newly activated in the 301st Fighter Squadron, rising to staff sergeant and becoming an integral member of the 332nd Fighter Group, serving under then-Col. Benjamin O. Davis, who eventually became an Air Force general.

They deployed to Italy, where Ellis earned seven battle stars and left the Army as a sergeant major.

Back home, he initially worked as a porter for Frost Brothers but landed a job with the U.S. Postal Service, where he remained until 1984… The post office was Ellis’s day job, but there was a second one as well, with Ellis leading a jazz quintet. Sinkfield, who also heads the Tuskegee Airmen’s San Antonio chapter, said the Tom Ellis Jazz Quintet played around the San Antonio and was well known to people throughout the city. Ellis played the piano, and very well.

“He had a jazz quintet that played around San Antonio … and he could play that piano like it was just his baby. He was just a natural,” Sinkfield said. “He was quite the musician.”

The sergeant major will be buried at 9 AM Friday, January 12th in Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.