Daniel Island veteran stood ready to launch during Cuban Missile Crisis

As he ascended to the rank of colonel in the U.S. Air Force, Tom Lollis built a career that took him through some of the last century’s most important historical events.  

Lollis, a Daniel Island resident, graduated from Clemson University in 1960 and went straight into the Air Force. He quickly found himself in the heart of the action during the Cuban Missile Crisis.  

Lollis was trained as an engineer, and he served as a deputy combat crew commander at Francis G. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, one of nine missile sites scattered through Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado. As part of a five-man crew, he served 24-hour shifts at the base, always ready to launch a nuclear missile if the order came through from President John F. Kennedy.  

The nation was on high alert. For two weeks, Lollis said, he and the others at the base could be no more than six rings away from a telephone in case an order to fire came down.  

Lollis said he and his colleagues didn’t know where the missiles would fly.  

“Our missiles were targeted to somewhere in Russia, probably,” he said from his home at Daniel Pointe Retirement Center. “They probably didn’t think it was wise for us to know what city or area.” 

Many of the operation’s details were top secret, and the job carried immense responsibility for men in their early 20s.  

“My father-in-law was calling me every day, telling me, ‘Tell me what is going on,’” Lollis said. “I said, ‘I can’t.’” 

Lollis went on to gain a master’s degree in engineering at Georgia Tech and to earn several military decorations and awards. His duties as an engineer took him to projects around the world, where he worked side-by-side with civilians in places including Vietnam, Korea, Japan, the Philippines, and Saudi Arabia.  

In all, he said, he and his late wife moved 30-something times. As he reflected on Veterans Day, which is celebrated in a variety of ways at Daniel Pointe, Lollis said he enjoyed the stability and structure of military life, and he worked to give those who served under his agency to make their own decisions when appropriate.  

“I learned that if you take care of your people and show you care about them, they’re going to take care of the mission and take care of you,” he said. “I tried to give the young officers and sergeants as much authority as they could handle.” 

Lollis pointed out a community display at Daniel Pointe that showcases resident veterans. His many years of travel give him a close perspective on life for those serving in the Middle East now.  

“I feel for the people who have to be there, launching off ships day and night,” he said. “It must be tough on them, because they are away from their families for seven or eight months.”