Denison unveiled a privately funded downtown mural honoring retired Air Force Lt. Col. B.C. Thomas, a pilot who grew up in the city and went on to fly the SR-71 Blackbird, KTEN reported. The city also issued a proclamation setting aside a day in Thomas' honor.
Thomas is the only Air Force pilot to have flown all three of the major American high-altitude spy planes, according to the report, and he left the service with more hours in the SR-71 than any other pilot.
Jay Reid, who served as Thomas' reconnaissance systems officer in the SR-71 for nearly five years, told KTEN that "flying SR-71 is a very select program" and called Thomas an outstanding pilot. Thomas said his love of aviation started with a hard rubber toy airplane his father gave him; his father had served in World War II.
Mayor Robert Crowley said Thomas' classmates from the Class of 1960 came up with the idea for the mural and raised the money to pay for it. The artwork also pays tribute to two of Thomas' ancestors whose names are on Denison street signs: his great-grandfather B.C. Murray, who published one of the town's early newspapers, and his great-granduncle L.S. Owings, Denison's first mayor.
