There aren’t a lot of folk legends in America anymore, but pilots at Nellis Air Force Base who flew missions for the past four decades can name at least one: the man in overalls who would come running out of his house to wave an American flag as they flew by — a man who never failed to make this grand gesture.

Evan Thompson never served in the Air Force — he was a Navy man between 1955 and 1959 — but every day for 45 years, he was a visible reminder of what it means to fly and to fight for your country. At a time when the divide between our nation’s military and the civilian population they serve can seem like an ever-widening chasm, Thompson was a daily reminder that Americans support their men and women in uniform.

Thompson lived in Beatty, Nevada, a town just more than a hundred miles from Nellis Air Force Base. Every day for more than four decades, he would run out to his yard every time he heard the approach of a military aircraft. Sometimes joined by his wife and children, he would wave a giant American flag, one that pilots could easily see from their cockpits. His flag-waving enthusiasm is the reason his house reportedly became a “go-to place” for pilots coming back to Nellis.

Those pilots dubbed Thompson “The Real American.” He was a living legend of the nearby base, a known figure to everyone who ever flew at Nellis. He even became so well-known as “The Real American” that his title is now the name of a new documentary anthology about the man with the flags. Fittingly, the documentary features another civilian whose enthusiasm for the U.S. military is unparalleled: actor Gary Sinise.

Though he might have been called “The Real American” by the pilots who flew at Nellis Air Force Base over the years, his full name was Evan William Thompson III, and he died of cancer in Las Vegas in October 2020. The Air Force reportedly gave him one last send-off, with four A-10 Thunderbolt IIs doing a flyover of Thompson’s home, but that wasn’t the only time they recognized his patriotism.

Thompson was born in Seattle, but his parents were active on the vaudeville circuit, so he traveled all around the country before joining the military and arriving in Beatty just after leaving the Navy. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reports that Thompson worked at the nearby Nevada National Security Site and ran a number of small businesses before retiring in 2000. His daughter, Eirianedd Oser, told the paper his flag-waving was fueled by patriotism and the turbulent 1960s and 1970s.

“He saw a lot of political things happening in the country at the time,” Oser told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “One day, he decided he was going to start to go out and wave the flag to say, ‘I support you guys.’ It took off from there, and word got around.”

The story of “The Real American” is one that was handed down from pilot to pilot at the base. If you flew aircraft at Nellis long enough, chances were good that you’d see Thompson, clad in overalls and waving the flag, sooner or later. He eventually became a staple of graduation ceremonies and other base events.

Thompson was a warm, affectionate and gregarious man, according to many Nellis pilots who flew sorties at the installation over the years. When he fell and broke his hip in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic prevented the aircrews from visiting him as he recovered. Instead, he received an outpouring of cards, letters and phone calls from the people he cheered on so enthusiastically every day.

Sadly, Thompson never fully recovered. His hip injury led to a bone cancer diagnosis, and the cancer soon took his life. He died on Oct. 2, 2020, at the age of 83. A GoFundMe crowdfunding campaign intended to pay his medical bills will now go toward a memorial and philanthropic efforts.

“This story is about a patriotic American that dedicated his life to let the men and women in uniform know that they were appreciated,” Sinise says in the film’s trailer. “In this film, we explore his commitment and unwavering support for our nation’s heroes.”

“The Real American” does not yet have a release date. Check out the film’s website for updated release information.

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