Thomas Ross, 73; Author of Books on Military Intelligence
Thomas B. Ross, 73, a journalist and author of books on military intelligence who served as the Pentagon spokesman during the Jimmy Carter administration, died of pancreatic cancer Thursday in a Long Island hospital.
Ross was the Washington bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times when an American spy plane, piloted by Francis Gary Powers, was shot down over Russian territory in 1962. Ross and his co-author, David Wise, investigated the incident and published “The U-2 Affair.”
Ross and Wise also wrote “The Invisible Government,” a 1964 book that dealt with the role of intelligence agencies in diplomacy; and “The Espionage Establishment,” a 1967 book that examined the international intelligence community.
After nearly two decades with the Chicago Sun-Times, Ross left in 1977 to become the assistant secretary of defense for public affairs. He became communications director for the Celanese Corp. in New York City in 1981. He later became a senior vice president of RCA, NBC and the Hill & Knowlton public relations firm.
He was a president of government relations for Loral Space and Communications at the time of his death.
The New York City-born Ross graduated from Yale University and served in the Navy during the Korean War.
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