Nathan O. Thomas, celebrated Tuskegee Airman and longtime data technician, has died at 98
He served stateside during World War II, and supported pilots, mechanics, and other ground personnel as an information and education specialist.
Nathan O. Thomas, 98, of Philadelphia, celebrated Tuskegee Airman, longtime data technician for the U.S. Postal Service, retired school aide, church leader, mentor, athlete, and volunteer, died Sunday, Dec. 22, of respiratory failure at his home in Mount Airy.
Mr. Thomas was drafted in 1945 and assigned to the Army Air Forces’ 99th Pursuit Squadron at the segregated Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama. He served stateside during World War II and supported pilots, mechanics, and other ground personnel as an information and education specialist, and is recognized as one of the now-famous Tuskegee Airmen.
He was honorably discharged in 1947 and spent the rest of his life representing America’s first Black military airmen at parades, ceremonies, fundraisers, and educational events. Outgoing and affable, he gave interviews to reporters, engaged happily with the public, and spoke to students often about both the racism he endured and the rewards he earned over the years.
“There were many times where I wanted to give up,” he told the Philadelphia Tribune in 2022, “but I continued to persevere.”
In 2006, Congress voted to award the Tuskegee Airmen the Congressional Gold Medal “in recognition of their unique military record, which inspired revolutionary reform in the Armed Forces.” Mr. Thomas received his actual medal in 2019 and in 2022 successfully lobbied for March 29 to be designated annually as Pennsylvania Day of Recognition for Tuskegee Airmen.
“We turned out to be some of the greatest pilots that ever flew in World War II,” he told CBS Philadelphia in 2018.
“Such a great soul, the best neighbor I ever had while in West Oak Lane.”
He worked for a year in Washington for the Department of Commerce after college and followed his brother to Philadelphia in 1951. He spent the next 31 years as a data technician for the Postal Service and earned its outstanding service award in 1981.
After that, still wanting to contribute, Mr. Thomas worked six years as a nonteaching aide for the Philadelphia School District at Warren G. Harding Middle School, Mary McLeod Bethune Elementary School, and elsewhere. He also served on the Democratic Party’s executive committee for the 10th division of the 17th Ward, and worked with former City Councilmember David Cohen and former State Rep. Stephen Kinsey.
“This gentleman was a true American hero who served his country without pause or reservation,” Kinsey said in a Facebook tribute.
He entered what is now Delaware State University in 1944 and, after his military service in 1947, became captain of the track team and ran in the Penn Relays. In 1950, he earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology.
“We had great teachers, and if you wanted a great education, that was the place to be.”
He was active with the Delaware State alumni association and vigorously represented the university to high school students in Philadelphia and elsewhere. He arranged for visits to the campus and provided assistance in enrollment.
In 2021, university officials set aside a portion of the campus to honor Mr. Thomas and two other Delaware State students who served as Tuskegee Airmen. “We need to do a better job of telling our story. Nathan Thomas is our story,” Delaware State president Tony Allen said at the dedication ceremony. “We need to be shouting from the rooftops that we have living history among us.”
The Greater Philadelphia Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen Inc. and Legacy Bridges STEM Academy endowed academic scholarships in his name. His family said in a tribute: “His mission was to be of service to others and to always lend a helping hand.”
Nathan Otha Thomas was born Oct. 2, 1926, in Bridgeville, Del. He attended elementary, middle, and part of high school in Salem County, and graduated from Robert Russa Moton High School in Easton, Md., in 1944.
He met Lolia Tilghman at Delaware State, and they married in 1951, and had daughters Vendette and Nathania and a son, Michael. His wife died in 2022.
Mr. Thomas enjoyed fishing up and down the East Coast. His wife didn’t like to fly, so they drove across the country and took other memorable trips by car.
He walked in the 1995 Million Man March and taught Sunday school and was chairman of the Higher Education and Campus Ministry Committee at Janes Memorial United Methodist Church. He was president and vice president of the Oriole Historical Society in Maryland, and an active member of the Omega Psi Phi fraternity.
He doted on his family and constantly thanked everyone for their kindness to him. “He was always helping somebody else,” said his daughter Nathania. “He loved to talk, loved to be helpful. He was pleasant to be around.”
In addition to his children, Mr. Thomas is survived by three granddaughters, four great-granddaughters, one great-great-grandson, and other relatives. Five sisters and five brothers died earlier.
He requested that no services be held.
Donations in his name may be made to the Greater Philadelphia Chapter of Tuskegee Airmen Inc., Box 18966, Philadelphia, Pa. 19119; and the Delaware State University Aviation Program, 1200 N. DuPont Highway, Dover, Del. 19901.