Fort Worth in Tarrant County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
Ormer Leslie Locklear
(October 28, 1891 - August 2, 1920)
— (Grave site 65 feet east) —
A native of Greenville, Texas, Ormer Leslie Locklear moved to Fort Worth with his family in 1906. He worked for his father's construction company until 1914, when he and his brother opened an automobile repair shop.
Locklear enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Service in 1917, soon after the U.S. enter World War I. He trained in San Antonio and Austin before being assigned to Barron Field near Fort Worth as a flight instructor. He soon became known for his daring feats of precision flying and performed in barnstorming air shows to recruit pilots for military service.
Locklear resigned his Army commission in 1919 to fly in the commercial air show circuit. Hired by the Universal Film Company as a stunt pilot for motion pictures, he moved to Hollywood and in 1920 was killed flying a stunt pilot for his second feature, "The Skywayman". The accident, believed to have been caused when the bright lights illuminating the night sky for filming blinded the pilot, was recorded on film and was used in the movies final scene. Thousands of mourners attended Locklear's Fort Worth funeral, which the Fox Film Corporation filmed and released later as a newsreel.
Erected 1992 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 3877.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Air & Space • Arts, Letters, Music • Cemeteries & Burial Sites • Disasters. A significant historical year for this entry is 1920.
Location. 32° 45.711′ N, 97° 21.964′ W. Marker is in Fort Worth, Texas, in Tarrant County. Marker is on Greenwood Cemetery. The marker stands on the grounds of Greenwood Cemetery. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 3400 White Settlement Rd, Fort Worth TX 76107, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. William John Marsh (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Fort Worth's First Flight (approx. 0.8 miles away); Herbert M. Hinckley (approx. 1.1 miles away); Midnight (approx. 1.2 miles away); Southwestern Exposition and Livestock Show (approx. 1.3 miles away); Camp Bowie in World War I (approx. 1˝ miles away); Camp Bowie Boulevard (approx. 1˝ miles away); George Herman O'Brien, Jr. (approx. 1˝ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fort Worth.
Credits. This page was last revised on July 11, 2022. It was originally submitted on June 13, 2021, by J Frye of Fort Worth, Texas. This page has been viewed 202 times since then and 27 times this year. Last updated on July 11, 2022, by Joe Lotz of Denton, Texas. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on June 13, 2021, by J Frye of Fort Worth, Texas. • J. Makali Bruton was the editor who published this page.