John served for 21 years as a decorated fighter pilot in the United States Air Force, flying missions overseas. During the Vietnam War, he flew F-100’s with the 613, 614, and 615th TFS in LA, Spain, and Lybia, and Turkey. As a charter Super Sabre Society member, John is remembered well in two issues of The Intake Journal Issue 41, and 42 where his ejection story is well documented.
He retired in 1975 as a Lieutenant Colonel and began a career as a building contractor for over 30 years.
An active community member and outdoorsman, John was a member of the Fleming Hunt Club, the Order of Daedalians, the Super Sabre Society, and served for the Boy Scout Troop 48. He was deeply devoted to his parish, St. Andrew’s, and on the vestry for many years. He was the consummate neighbor to all and friend to many, and official Lead Judge of the Annual 4th of July Egg Toss in Brandon Heights.
John O. Edelblute 111, LtCol USAF, Ret., “Headed West” on January 31, 2020.
John Owen Edelblute II, age 88, of Newport News,VA, passed away on January 30, 2020, in his home. He was born on November 21, 1931, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to the late Thomas and Frances Edelblute
John served for 21 years as a decorated fighter pilot in the United States Air Force, flying missions overseas. During the Vietnam War, he flew F-100’s with the 613, 614, and 615th TFS in LA, Spain, and Libya, and Turkey. As a charter Super Sabre Society member, John is remembered well in two issues of The Intake Journal Issue 41, and 42 where his ejection story is well documented.
He retired in 1975 as a Lieutenant Colonel and began a career as a building contractor serving the Peninsula for over 30 years.
An active community member and outdoorsman, John was a member of the Fleming Hunt Club, the Order of Daedalians, the Super Sabre Society and served for the Boy Scout Troop 48. He was deeply devoted to his parish, St. Andrew’s, and on the vestry for many years. He was the consummate neighbor to all and friend to many, while official Lead Judge of the Annual 4th of July Egg Toss in Brandon Heights. A loving husband, devoted father, energetic craftsman, and industrious businessman, John will be best known for his work ethic, friendliness, and passion for life.
He was preceded in death by his siblings Thomas H. Edelblute II, Anne Schneider, and Joyce Eastwood. He is survived by his wife of 53 years, Anne, his children Heidi, Holly, John Owen, Heather, and Jacob, and his seven grandchildren, Davison, Lindy, Luke, Lauren, Beatrix, John Owen, and Elliott.
The family wishes to thank Elaine Williams and Barbara Spratley who lovingly cared for John in his final months. A memorial service was held on Saturday, February 8, 2020. (1)
(1) Published in Daily Press from February 5 to February 6, 2020.
John Edelblute II – Caterpillar Story
Paratrooper Training Paid Off!
In December 1966, I was assigned to the 401st TFW, Torrejon AB, Madrid, Spain. But on this occasion, I was TDY to Wheelus AB, Tripoli, Libya, for rotational F-100 gunnery training. I was leading a three-ship mission to the El Uotia gunnery range, some 80 miles from Wheelus AB. Capt. Jim Brasier was number two and Capt. Bob Stuart was flying number three. Jim and I were old friends from our days at England AFB, Alexandria, Louisiana, so we had a friendly gentleman’s bet on who would score closest to the target bullseye for our dive-bombing, rockets, and 20mm strafing events.
The first part of the mission was a low-level navigation route to El Uotia with an attack on a simulated nuclear target. We started our conventional training with dive-bombing. I had two good dive bombs, but Jim was closer to the target in both cases. The next event was high-angle 2.75 rockets. I dove on the target on my first pass and fired. As I was pulling off, the Fire Warning and Overheat lights both came on in the cockpit. I immediately called to Jim to check me over for fire. Jim replied, “Lead, I see some raw fuel streaming from the bottom of your bird, pull up.” I continued to climb to altitude and very shortly, the engine began to compressor stall, simultaneously with Jim’s call, “John you’re on fire—eject!” As suggested, I decided to eject at about 3,000 feet above the desert.
I pulled the ejection handles on the ejection seat and the canopy flew off. I then squeezed the ejection triggers and the ejection catapult fired the seat out of the aircraft. As the ejection seat left the Hun, the lap belt fired, releasing me from the seat as, simultaneously, the seat-kicker ejected me from the seat.
I was now floating in space, waiting for my parachute to open. As time ticked by, I began to recall my paratrooper training (where those jumps were only static line jumps). I first felt only a mild tug from the parachute as I left the airplane. As I continued to free fall, I knew something was wrong. I reached for the “D” ring on my parachute and pulled it. I then felt a proper opening shock of the parachute canopy, that was then fully blossomed and with a pendulum effect. The parachute swung me once to the left, back to the right, and on the next swing, I hit the desert floor, in one piece — ALIVE! My experience having paratrooper training saved my life. Another two or three seconds of free-falling after ejection and I would have hit the ground with an unopened parachute.
I gathered my parachute as a good paratrooper would do and saw the range rescue helicopter was there to pick me up and return me to Wheelus AB. I spent that night in the base hospital under observation and was released the next day.
Further investigation as to why my parachute didn’t open immediately upon being separated from the ejection seat was found to be because I had failed to connect the hook of the lanyard attached to the ejection seat to my parachute “D” ring which would have opened my parachute as I left the ejection seat. This lanyard hook-up to the “D” ring was supposed to be connected below 10,000 ft. so as to have parachute activation be immediately after ejection at low altitude. My Bad!!!
Not surprisingly after my “near-death” experience, my “good friend” Jim Brasier found out I was OK, and then kept bugging me over and over for his event winnings. So, I presented them to him the next night when I was invited to his house for dinner … thinking that would be the end of it.
Originally published in Issue 42 of the The Intake Journal
