“When Jack graduated from the University of Montana in 1956 he entered U.S. Air Force Navigator training at Harlingen AFB, Texas. Upon completion of Navigator training he attended Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO) training at Keesler AFB, Biloxi, Mississippi. Jack’s initial assignment was to the B-66 and later to the B-52. As a B-52 EWO, Jack received an Air Medal for his actions in February 1965 when an aerial refueling malfunction pumped nearly 3,000 pounds of fuel into the crew compartment of his B-52.
In 1965, he was assigned to the then classified Wild Weasel mission. Only after arriving at Tyndall AFB, Florida, were the newly assigned Wild Weasels told what their actual mission would be. Brigadier General Kenneth Dempster, the man in charge of the Wild Weasel project, explained to them that the Air Force had upgraded some of old two seat F-100F, Super Saber, aircraft with the new AN/APR-25 Radar Homing and Warning (RHAW) system which could tell the direction to a Russian SA-2 Surface to Air Missile (SAM) site and also warn them of a launch. Their mission was to fly this ten year old aircraft into North Vietnam in front of the strike force, hunt for a SAM site and then destroy the SAM site.”
When the briefing was over the General asked if there were any questions to which Captain Jack Donovan responded with:
“You want me to fly in the back of a little tiny fighter aircraft with a crazy fighter pilot who thinks he’s invincible, home in on a SAM site in North Vietnam, and shoot it before it shoots me, you gotta be shittin’ me!”
Jack’s comment, You Gotta Be Shitting Me (YGBSM), became the motto of the Wild Weasels and remains so to this today. The backseat Weasel EWO’s were called “Bears”.(1)
Source: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/155613019/john-edward-donovan
John E. “Jack” Donovan, Sr., Maj USAF, Ret., “Headed West” on April 11, 2015.
Wild Weasel “Jack” Donovan Honored with Fly By at Arlington National Cemetery.
It was a beautiful morning in our Nation’s Capital 20 Nov 2015 and Jack Donovan’s Internment at Arlington National Cemetery had a remarkable showing. A son of a member of the Society of Wild Weasels captured the moment with an F-16 missing man four ship flown by the McEntire ANGB F-16 Wild Weasel unit (157th FS).
Jack Donovan was 82 when he died peacefully at his home on Saturday, April 11, 2015. He was born in Butte, Montana on April 4, 1933 to Richard and Julia Piazzola Donovan. A Funeral Mass will be held Saturday, April 18, 2015 at 10:30 a.m. at St Thomas the Apostle Catholic Church, 5150 N. Valley View Road, Tucson. On November 25, 1954, Jack married the love of his life, Joyce Becky.
Upon graduating the University of Montana in 1956, he entered the Air Force and soon completed Navigator and Electronic Warfare Officer training. During their 60 years of marriage, the Air Force life suited their shared sense of adventure, taking them from Japan to Las Vegas and many places in between. For many years they settled down on the Gulf of Mexico in Ft. Walton Beach, FL. Happy family memories with their four sons centered around camping, boating, and travel. Jack enjoyed auto repair, carpentry projects and a good book.
Jack was admired for his integrity, sense of humor, honesty and love of his family. Jack and Joyce also enjoyed entertaining friends and relatives. No one entered their home without being offered a cup of coffee and no occasion was too little for a good time at the Donovan house. Jack’s initial assignments in the Air force were in the B-66 and B-52 bombers before he was assigned to the then highly classified Wild Weasel mission. On December 22, 1965, then Captain Donovan and his pilot, in their F-100F, were the first to successfully target and destroy a North Vietnamese SAM site. For his effort, Jack was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He then went on to help lay the groundwork for the USAF Wild Weasel School and was a leading advocate for the development of the F-4G Advanced Wild Weasel. In addition to several medals and commendations and in honor of his distinguished service, the Air Force Navigator School in San Antonio awarded a trophy in his name to the top Electronic Warfare graduate in each class.
After retiring from the Air Force in 1974, Jack remained a leader in promoting the value of electronic warfare. In 1989, Jack accepted a position with the Air National Guard Test Center in Tucson, AZ.
He is survived by his wife, Joyce and sons, Jack Jr. (Carol), Joe (Jeff), Mike (Marjorie) and Patrick (Deborah). Jack delighted in his seven grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. Grandchildren: Chris (Katie) Donovan, Karen Donovan (Brandon) Neff, LT Jennifer Donovan (USN), Becca Donovan, Anne Donovan, Michael (Susan) Donovan and Julia Donovan. Great-grandchildren: Jacob and Alex Donovan and Bryce Neff. He is also survived by a sister, Arlene Hill and a brother, Richard (Joanne) Donovan. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Community Food Bank of Southern Arizona, P.O. Box 26727, Tucson, AZ 85726-6727.
