Gilchrist, John R.

Jack was born on January 18, 1934, in Pittsburgh, PA. In 1953 he married his sweetheart, Carol Sue Klose, and together they had five children. Jack graduated from the University of Pittsburgh on February 3, 1956, and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force upon which he headed to Lackland Air Force Base (AFB) for Officer training.

After Lackland, Jack’s first assignment was at Hondo AFB, TX for primary pilot training in T-34 and T-29 aircraft. He then went to Webb Air Force Base, TX for advanced Pilot training in the T-33, and earned his pilot wings in July 1957. He attended gunnery training at Luke AFB, AZ flying the F-84F aircraft and completed advanced gunnery school flying the F-100-A at Nellis AFB, NV.

In 1958, he was assigned to the 53rd Fighter Day Squadron at Landstuhl AFB, Germany, flying the F-100C. The squadron was re-designated 53rd Tactical Fighter Squadron and the mission expanded to include delivering air-to-ground ordinance and 24-hour-a-day nuclear alert. The 53rd squadron deployed on numerous occasions to Wheelis, AFB, Libya for gunnery training.

In 1961, Jack received orders to the 309th Tactical Fighter Squadron at George AFB, CA, flying the F-100D, and then attended Squadron Officer School at Maxwell AFB graduating in March 1962. During that time the 309th was transferred to Homestead AFB, FL, and then deployed to Okinawa for six months during the Cuban Missile Crisis. During his stay at Homestead AFB, he attended Safety Officer School, Jump School at Ft. Benning, and deployed with the 308th squadron to Turkey for a 3-month rotation.

Jack made history by being one of the pilots in the longest air-to air-refueling missions at that time, successfully piloting his F-100 aircraft on a non-stop flight from Homestead to Cigil Air Base, Turkey, a distance of 6,000 miles. This required eight aerial refuelings, four of which were performed at night. For this, he was awarded the Air Medal for Distinguished Flying.

Upon his return to Homestead AFB, he received orders to Ft. Benning, GA as an Air Liaison Officer with the 2nd Infantry Division and a tour of duty in Vietnam as a Forward Air Controller with the First Air Cavalry Division in 1965. It took 32 days to get to Vietnam on the USS Geiger, a ship that normally held 1500 passengers but was carrying nearly 3000 on this trip. He flew 178 missions in 7 months in Vietnam and was a Forward Air Controller over the famous battle of the Ia Drang Valley in Nov 1965, earning him the name “Jack the FAC”.

After his tour of duty in Vietnam, he was given his choice of assignments and became a flight instructor in the F-4 at Davis Monthan AFB, AZ from 1966 to 1968. From 1968-1970 he was assigned as an Air Officer Commanding (AOC) at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, CO. His job was to guide the growth of young cadets into military leaders and many of the cadets under his charge have become commanders, educators, and community builders.

He then attended Air Command and Staff College at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, graduating in 1971 as a distinguished graduate while earning a master’s degree in Political Science from Auburn University.

Next came Langley AFB from 1971 to 1976, where he held several jobs including Assistant Director of Personnel, Assistant Chief of Staff of Tactical Air Command (TAC), and Executive Officer to the TAC commander. He also attended the National War College, Ft. McNair, D. C., where he was a Distinguished Graduate in 1976.

Jack was then assigned overseas as the Commander of the 3rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, flying the F-4E and as Commander, Cope Thunder at Clark AFB, the Philippines from 1976 to 1978. From there he was assigned to the 314th Air Division, Osan AFB, Korea as Director of Operations until 1980. Upon his return to the United States, he was the Vice Commander, 354th Tactical Training Wing, flying the F15 Eagle, at Luke AFB, Arizona 1980-1982 and then Chief of Staff 12th Air Force, Bergstrom AFB, Texas where he retired in 1984.

Over the course of his military career, Jack amassed over 4,000 hours of flying time and received 22 distinguished medals including the Legion of Merit (two), Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal (two), Air Medal for Distinguished Flying with 8 Oak Leaf Clusters, Air Force Combat Readiness Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Air Force Expeditionary Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Vietnam Cross of Gallantry with Silver Palm.

After retiring from the Air Force, Jack was an Executive Vice President with Crawford Technical Services and TECOM where he managed government contracts across the country.

(Source: https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/austin-tx/john-r-gilchrist-8771945