Thomas James Ward

Thomas James “TJ” Ward was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1942. After basic training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri he attended the helicopter flight school in Fort Wolters, Texas and Fort Rucker, Alabama. He was assigned to the 2nd Infantry in Korea as an airlift pilot flying the H-21. After Korea he flew with the 11th Armored Cavalry “Blackhorse” Regiment in Vietnam flying his beloved UH-1C (Huey) gunship. During his deployment to Vietnam he earned seventeen medals: two Distinguished Flying Crosses, a Bronze Star, a Purple Heart and thirteen Air Medals. Following his military service, TJ joined the Department of the Army’s Night Vision Laboratory at Fort Belvoir, Virginia where he served as a night vision systems test pilot performing research and development flights on first generation night vision equipment including night vision goggles and forward looking infrared devices. In 1975, TJ joined the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Flight Standards Service. He served in several capacities with the FAA including Aviation Safety Inspector, Executive pilot, Advanced Aircraft Simulator evaluation specialist, and technical expert for the Flight Standards National Field Office. He died in 2014 in Powhatan, Virginia and was buried with honors at Arlington National Cemetery (section 55). He was proud of his contributions to flight and loved being a pilot.