His story is one that not many people know, but his name is synonymous with courage, perseverance and modernism. Born in 1889, Lt. Eric L. Ellington was a man of many dreams – the most of which was to serve his country and make a difference. Today, he is a legend in his own right and his name is the title of the joint-use civil/military airport that houses the likes of NASA, the Texas Air National Guard, the United States Coast Guard and the Texas Army National Guard, among others, in Houston. The smallest of the Houston Airport System’s three airports, Ellington Field is also one of the country’s most valuable homeland security assets. Fighter jets and other military aircraft that patrol the nation call the airport home – and soon even the unmanned Predator will land at Ellington Field. But long before the airport was christened Ellington Field, Lt. Ellington was making a name for himself. Born in Clayton, North Carolina on May 15, 1889, Eric Lamar Ellington always had a thirst for military life. As a child he and his brothers would spend hours building small model-battle-ships to play with. So when he decided to pursue a military career it only seemed natural for everyone that knew him.

© Houston Airport System Lt. Eric L. Ellington

At 16, weighing only 100 pounds, Ellington entered the U.S. Naval Academy.

A year later, however, because of a routine physical it seemed his dream would come to a shattering end. His poor physique and young age inspired doubt in his ability to perform, but ultimately his perseverance and drive convinced academy officials to waive his medical disqualification and to allow him to continue studying at the academy.

Determined to graduate from the academy, young Ellington gained weight and excelled in his courses – graduating seventh in his class in 1909. That same year he was assigned for midshipman training duty on the U.S.S. California; aboard this modern steel navy ship Ellington became a junior naval officer.

In 1911, the young officer decided to try his luck in another military branch and left the navy for the army. Almost immediately he was assigned to the United States 3rd Cavalry at Fort Sam Houston. Shortly after he became an officer and was assigned to the 1st Aero Squadron at Texas City, Texas and San Diego, California.

No goal seemed unattainable for Lt. Ellington. Fate, however, had another plan in mind for the young officer.

On Monday, November 24, 1913 Lt. Ellington took another officer out for flight instruction. As he sat in the instructor’s seat, the lieutenant never knew that it would be his last flight. Moments after they had taken off, the Wright C Flyer aircraft in which they were traveling began to malfunction and eventually crashed, killing both officers.

On December 2, 1913, the “skinny boy” with the big dreams was finally laid to rest next to his father, at the age of 24. Yet his legacy as a respected army officer, pilot, flight instructor and the “ace” of 1st Aero Squadron would live on for many decades to come.

When the United States Army Air Corps purchased 1,280 acres of land in southeast Houston, in 1917, for a military base it seemed only fitting to honor the memory of Lt. Ellington by naming the facility Ellington Field.

By 1918, Ellington Field had become a staple of the American military identity. It was an “airfield of firsts” with the first camp newspaper, the first gunnery and bombing ranges, the first “canteen girls”, and the first aerial ambulance of any military airfield in the nation. During World War I and II Ellington Field was home to the U.S. Army Air Corps.

In 1984, the airport was taken over by the City of Houston, but its name was never changed. Since then the airport has continued to expand and today is among the most renowned in the nation and the world.

Lt. Ellington’s mission of service and patriotic duty lives on.

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