Wilk became a bomber pilot after World War II in the country's first Black aviation combat unit. He later became a bus driver because he couldn't pursue his dreams of being a commercial pilot.Oscar Wilkerson Jr. lived a rich life, serving with the trailblazing Tuskegee Airmen during World War II before settling in Chicago’s south suburbs and eventually being awarded the Congressional Gold Medal.
He died of natural causes on Feb. 8, a day shy of his 97th birthday. But the court case went on. And, on May 24, Cook County Circuit Judge Anna Demacopoulos ordered Martin to pay Wilkerson’s attorneys more than $1.2 million in damages, fees and court costs after Martin failed to answer questions about the money and to hand over records.
Wilkerson, who was the group’s last known surviving member in the Chicago area, was among roughly 300 surviving members awarded the Congressional Gold Medal in 2007 by President George W. Bush. But that July a red flag went up when Wilkerson got a notice saying he owed $41,296.10 to the senior home and that payments for him to live there hadn’t been made in recent months, according to the suit. It says that’s when he learned that his checking and investment accounts had been "emptied." And it was unclear where his Social Security and pension payments were being deposited.
At a hearing April 6, Demacopoulos ordered Martin "to refrain from transferring or using any further funds" from Wilkerson’s accounts.