Leroy Tatom

Who was Leroy Tatom?

B. Leroy Tatom, Jr., was a helicopter pilot.

Leroy Tatom was born February 19, 1952, in Tulsa, Oklahoma to Dorothy and Bernard Tatom. He graduated from McLain High School in 1970 and began flying in 1972. He studied at Oklahoma State University before joining the United States Navy in the early 1970s. A Navy corpsman, Tatom was stationed in Japan during the Vietnam War. In addition, he taught English as a second language off base. His other interests included martial arts, guitar playing, and baseball.

When he returned to the United States, Tatom learned how to fly helicopters from Bennie Blalock in Norman, Oklahoma. The type of craft he flew included single engine, twin engine airplanes to the "Baby" Bell and the long range, high tech craft - jet ranger helicopters for over 30 years.

Leroy was a pilot for Instapipe Industries and PHI offshore oil rigs from the late 1970s to mid-1980s. He flew part-time for television station KOCO channel 5, in Oklahoma City, and was a news pilot for KTBC channel 7, in Austin, Texas.