Thomas R. Combs

Thomas R. Combs was born in Seattle 1948. He joined the Air Force in 1969 and was a crew chief on C-130E aircraft flying throughout Europe and the United States. Combs was assigned to the Air Commandos of the 16th Special Operations Squadron, Ubon, Thailand, in 1971, and was crew chief on AC-130A, #55-0044 (Prometheus), which was shot down on March 29, 1972. He was also asigned to AC-130A, # 55-0043, which was shot down on June 18, 1972.

Staff Sergeant Combs left the Air Force in 1973 and graduated from the University of Washington. He married his wife, Ruth, 25 years ago this year, and has been blessed with children and grandchildren. Today, he is a Special Projects Manager in Bellevue, Washington. Tom holds a Black Belt in Goju Karate and plays drums in a rock band.