John E. Holden, alias Jack, took the Deep Six, Monday, May 27, 2013 at the Willow Valley Retirement Community after a life filled with endless laughter and debauchery.
While flying his beloved Corsair as a Marine Fighter Pilot during WWII, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his combat activities, the Air Medal for action in Okinawa in 1945 and the Distinguished Fleeing Cross for avoiding numerous women who were seeking child support under unproven circumstances.
After WWII he spent eight years with the Armstrong Cork Company and resigned with the title of Assistant Director of Advertising plus a dinky pension. He then joined the Hubley Toy Company and later became an independent toy designer.
John was interviewed about his military experience and recounts :" I was in Navy flight training at Brown University, in Providence, R.I. So, before graduating
in 1942 with a BA, I had two flying courses: basic, flying in Piper Cubs and aerobatics, flying in Waco biplanes.
"Then I tried to join the Navy. At Floyd Bennett Field, they asked me if I had ever had hay fever. I said yes, and they wouldn't take me. So I went to Boston and when they asked me the same question, I said no, and they took me."
After flight training at various bases, he was in advanced training at Parris Island as a member of Marine Fighting Squadron 312 (VMF-312) when they received their brand-new F4U-1 Corsair fighters. He says that looked like a lot of
airplane to him. They gave him the manual to read and then required him to point to all the controls, blindfolded, as they called them out. After that, he was deemed able to fly that powerful airplane.
While there, Holden also created the distinctive navy-and-white checkerboard design for the cowling and tail that led to the squadron being called the "Checkerboards."
After earning his golden wings and commission as a Marine Second Lieutenant at Pensacola, he shipped to San Diego and then to Hawaii for more training. From there, the pilots and their Corsairs were loaded aboard the carrier USS
Hollandia and were off to Okinawa, which was then the scene of the largest amphibious landing in the Pacific in World War II.
When the carrier was 125 miles off Okinawa, the Kadena airfield had been declared secured, and Holden and the men of his squadron were to be the first aircraft to fly to that Okinawa airfield with its severely shell-pocked runway.
"First, though," Holden says with a wry chuckle, "we had to get off the carrier. Although none of us had had catapult training, we soon learned that that was the
way we were to leave the ship.
On April 12, VMF-312 had their first contact with the enemy. Holden and three of his buddies scrambled to intercept oncoming zeros. To get above the zeros, they
climbed to 23,000 feet and then saw a force of 20 zeros below them. They dived on them, destroying eight zeros and badly damaging six more before the enemy
turned and fled for home.
On May 14, Holden's squadron was directed to destroy antiaircraft installations on Kyushu Island, which was heavily fortified by the Japanese. A 10,000-foot
dive on the installations resulted in the death of Holden's commanding officer, Major Richard Day, whose plane was hit and set on fire. Despite this and other losses, the squadron maintained a kill ratio of 11 to one.
With the surrender of the Japanese, Holden returned to San Diego aboard an aircraft carrier. Immediate check-in at a nearby building was required, and the pilots, eager to see the good old USA again, piled into an elevator that
promptly got stuck between floors. It was a Sunday, devoid of maintenance personnel, and they finally escaped only by climbing through the elevator ceiling. Goodbye, South Pacific. Welcome back to the USA!
After being discharged in January 1946, Holden worked as assistant advertising director at Armstrong (now Armstrong World Industries) and as vice president at
Hubley Manufacturing Company before starting his own toy design company.
As a longstanding member of the Lancaster Country Club, the Hamilton Club and the International Mickey Mouse Club from which he was immediately banned after providing housing for a number stray cats.
For many years prior to his demise, he wrote a tongue in cheek publication at Willow Valley called "The Wrinkle Valley News" where he had close to a thousand readers whom he referred to as "The Inmates of Wrinkle Valley." They fully enjoyed his creative humor and his intention to help them make unwise decisions in their hectic lives.
Jack was widowed ten years ago after sixty-one years of marriage to Elaine Ewing Holden. He has had a number of other wives recently, none of which were his.
Three daughters, Holly, Wendy and Anne Holden and a son, John E. Holden, Jr. have managed to survive despite being related to their father. His last words were "I'm really going to miss myself." Stay tuned for the "Gone Away" party to which the invitation may never come.
In all seriousness, in lieu of flowers, please send donations to Honor Flight, 300 E. Auburn Avenue, Springfield, OH 45505 or www.honorflight.org.
Jack Holden wrote this obituary several years ago.
Online condolences and funny memories of Jack may be posted on our Web site: www.thegroffs.com
While flying his beloved Corsair as a Marine Fighter Pilot during WWII, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his combat activities, the Air Medal for action in Okinawa in 1945 and the Distinguished Fleeing Cross for avoiding numerous women who were seeking child support under unproven circumstances.
After WWII he spent eight years with the Armstrong Cork Company and resigned with the title of Assistant Director of Advertising plus a dinky pension. He then joined the Hubley Toy Company and later became an independent toy designer.
John was interviewed about his military experience and recounts :" I was in Navy flight training at Brown University, in Providence, R.I. So, before graduating
in 1942 with a BA, I had two flying courses: basic, flying in Piper Cubs and aerobatics, flying in Waco biplanes.
"Then I tried to join the Navy. At Floyd Bennett Field, they asked me if I had ever had hay fever. I said yes, and they wouldn't take me. So I went to Boston and when they asked me the same question, I said no, and they took me."
After flight training at various bases, he was in advanced training at Parris Island as a member of Marine Fighting Squadron 312 (VMF-312) when they received their brand-new F4U-1 Corsair fighters. He says that looked like a lot of
airplane to him. They gave him the manual to read and then required him to point to all the controls, blindfolded, as they called them out. After that, he was deemed able to fly that powerful airplane.
While there, Holden also created the distinctive navy-and-white checkerboard design for the cowling and tail that led to the squadron being called the "Checkerboards."
After earning his golden wings and commission as a Marine Second Lieutenant at Pensacola, he shipped to San Diego and then to Hawaii for more training. From there, the pilots and their Corsairs were loaded aboard the carrier USS
Hollandia and were off to Okinawa, which was then the scene of the largest amphibious landing in the Pacific in World War II.
When the carrier was 125 miles off Okinawa, the Kadena airfield had been declared secured, and Holden and the men of his squadron were to be the first aircraft to fly to that Okinawa airfield with its severely shell-pocked runway.
"First, though," Holden says with a wry chuckle, "we had to get off the carrier. Although none of us had had catapult training, we soon learned that that was the
way we were to leave the ship.
On April 12, VMF-312 had their first contact with the enemy. Holden and three of his buddies scrambled to intercept oncoming zeros. To get above the zeros, they
climbed to 23,000 feet and then saw a force of 20 zeros below them. They dived on them, destroying eight zeros and badly damaging six more before the enemy
turned and fled for home.
On May 14, Holden's squadron was directed to destroy antiaircraft installations on Kyushu Island, which was heavily fortified by the Japanese. A 10,000-foot
dive on the installations resulted in the death of Holden's commanding officer, Major Richard Day, whose plane was hit and set on fire. Despite this and other losses, the squadron maintained a kill ratio of 11 to one.
With the surrender of the Japanese, Holden returned to San Diego aboard an aircraft carrier. Immediate check-in at a nearby building was required, and the pilots, eager to see the good old USA again, piled into an elevator that
promptly got stuck between floors. It was a Sunday, devoid of maintenance personnel, and they finally escaped only by climbing through the elevator ceiling. Goodbye, South Pacific. Welcome back to the USA!
After being discharged in January 1946, Holden worked as assistant advertising director at Armstrong (now Armstrong World Industries) and as vice president at
Hubley Manufacturing Company before starting his own toy design company.
As a longstanding member of the Lancaster Country Club, the Hamilton Club and the International Mickey Mouse Club from which he was immediately banned after providing housing for a number stray cats.
For many years prior to his demise, he wrote a tongue in cheek publication at Willow Valley called "The Wrinkle Valley News" where he had close to a thousand readers whom he referred to as "The Inmates of Wrinkle Valley." They fully enjoyed his creative humor and his intention to help them make unwise decisions in their hectic lives.
Jack was widowed ten years ago after sixty-one years of marriage to Elaine Ewing Holden. He has had a number of other wives recently, none of which were his.
Three daughters, Holly, Wendy and Anne Holden and a son, John E. Holden, Jr. have managed to survive despite being related to their father. His last words were "I'm really going to miss myself." Stay tuned for the "Gone Away" party to which the invitation may never come.
In all seriousness, in lieu of flowers, please send donations to Honor Flight, 300 E. Auburn Avenue, Springfield, OH 45505 or www.honorflight.org.
Jack Holden wrote this obituary several years ago.
Online condolences and funny memories of Jack may be posted on our Web site: www.thegroffs.com
John E. Holden, alias Jack, took the Deep Six, Monday, May 27, 2013 at the Willow Valley Retirement Community after a life filled with endless laughter and debauchery.
While flying his beloved Corsair as a Marine Fighter Pilot during WWII, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his combat activities, the Air Medal for action in Okinawa in 1945 and the Distinguished Fleeing Cross for avoiding numerous women who were seeking child support under unproven circumstances.
After WWII he spent eight years with the Armstrong Cork Company and resigned with the title of Assistant Director of Advertising plus a dinky pension. He then joined the Hubley Toy Company and later became an independent toy designer.
John was interviewed about his military experience and recounts :" I was in Navy flight training at Brown University, in Providence, R.I. So, before graduating
in 1942 with a BA, I had two flying courses: basic, flying in Piper Cubs and aerobatics, flying in Waco biplanes.
"Then I tried to join the Navy. At Floyd Bennett Field, they asked me if I had ever had hay fever. I said yes, and they wouldn't take me. So I went to Boston and when they asked me the same question, I said no, and they took me."
After flight training at various bases, he was in advanced training at Parris Island as a member of Marine Fighting Squadron 312 (VMF-312) when they received their brand-new F4U-1 Corsair fighters. He says that looked like a lot of
airplane to him. They gave him the manual to read and then required him to point to all the controls, blindfolded, as they called them out. After that, he was deemed able to fly that powerful airplane.
While there, Holden also created the distinctive navy-and-white checkerboard design for the cowling and tail that led to the squadron being called the "Checkerboards."
After earning his golden wings and commission as a Marine Second Lieutenant at Pensacola, he shipped to San Diego and then to Hawaii for more training. From there, the pilots and their Corsairs were loaded aboard the carrier USS
Hollandia and were off to Okinawa, which was then the scene of the largest amphibious landing in the Pacific in World War II.
When the carrier was 125 miles off Okinawa, the Kadena airfield had been declared secured, and Holden and the men of his squadron were to be the first aircraft to fly to that Okinawa airfield with its severely shell-pocked runway.
"First, though," Holden says with a wry chuckle, "we had to get off the carrier. Although none of us had had catapult training, we soon learned that that was the
way we were to leave the ship.
On April 12, VMF-312 had their first contact with the enemy. Holden and three of his buddies scrambled to intercept oncoming zeros. To get above the zeros, they
climbed to 23,000 feet and then saw a force of 20 zeros below them. They dived on them, destroying eight zeros and badly damaging six more before the enemy
turned and fled for home.
On May 14, Holden's squadron was directed to destroy antiaircraft installations on Kyushu Island, which was heavily fortified by the Japanese. A 10,000-foot
dive on the installations resulted in the death of Holden's commanding officer, Major Richard Day, whose plane was hit and set on fire. Despite this and other losses, the squadron maintained a kill ratio of 11 to one.
With the surrender of the Japanese, Holden returned to San Diego aboard an aircraft carrier. Immediate check-in at a nearby building was required, and the pilots, eager to see the good old USA again, piled into an elevator that
promptly got stuck between floors. It was a Sunday, devoid of maintenance personnel, and they finally escaped only by climbing through the elevator ceiling. Goodbye, South Pacific. Welcome back to the USA!
After being discharged in January 1946, Holden worked as assistant advertising director at Armstrong (now Armstrong World Industries) and as vice president at
Hubley Manufacturing Company before starting his own toy design company.
As a longstanding member of the Lancaster Country Club, the Hamilton Club and the International Mickey Mouse Club from which he was immediately banned after providing housing for a number stray cats.
For many years prior to his demise, he wrote a tongue in cheek publication at Willow Valley called "The Wrinkle Valley News" where he had close to a thousand readers whom he referred to as "The Inmates of Wrinkle Valley." They fully enjoyed his creative humor and his intention to help them make unwise decisions in their hectic lives.
Jack was widowed ten years ago after sixty-one years of marriage to Elaine Ewing Holden. He has had a number of other wives recently, none of which were his.
Three daughters, Holly, Wendy and Anne Holden and a son, John E. Holden, Jr. have managed to survive despite being related to their father. His last words were "I'm really going to miss myself." Stay tuned for the "Gone Away" party to which the invitation may never come.
In all seriousness, in lieu of flowers, please send donations to Honor Flight, 300 E. Auburn Avenue, Springfield, OH 45505 or www.honorflight.org.
Jack Holden wrote this obituary several years ago.
Online condolences and funny memories of Jack may be posted on our Web site: www.thegroffs.com
While flying his beloved Corsair as a Marine Fighter Pilot during WWII, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for his combat activities, the Air Medal for action in Okinawa in 1945 and the Distinguished Fleeing Cross for avoiding numerous women who were seeking child support under unproven circumstances.
After WWII he spent eight years with the Armstrong Cork Company and resigned with the title of Assistant Director of Advertising plus a dinky pension. He then joined the Hubley Toy Company and later became an independent toy designer.
John was interviewed about his military experience and recounts :" I was in Navy flight training at Brown University, in Providence, R.I. So, before graduating
in 1942 with a BA, I had two flying courses: basic, flying in Piper Cubs and aerobatics, flying in Waco biplanes.
"Then I tried to join the Navy. At Floyd Bennett Field, they asked me if I had ever had hay fever. I said yes, and they wouldn't take me. So I went to Boston and when they asked me the same question, I said no, and they took me."
After flight training at various bases, he was in advanced training at Parris Island as a member of Marine Fighting Squadron 312 (VMF-312) when they received their brand-new F4U-1 Corsair fighters. He says that looked like a lot of
airplane to him. They gave him the manual to read and then required him to point to all the controls, blindfolded, as they called them out. After that, he was deemed able to fly that powerful airplane.
While there, Holden also created the distinctive navy-and-white checkerboard design for the cowling and tail that led to the squadron being called the "Checkerboards."
After earning his golden wings and commission as a Marine Second Lieutenant at Pensacola, he shipped to San Diego and then to Hawaii for more training. From there, the pilots and their Corsairs were loaded aboard the carrier USS
Hollandia and were off to Okinawa, which was then the scene of the largest amphibious landing in the Pacific in World War II.
When the carrier was 125 miles off Okinawa, the Kadena airfield had been declared secured, and Holden and the men of his squadron were to be the first aircraft to fly to that Okinawa airfield with its severely shell-pocked runway.
"First, though," Holden says with a wry chuckle, "we had to get off the carrier. Although none of us had had catapult training, we soon learned that that was the
way we were to leave the ship.
On April 12, VMF-312 had their first contact with the enemy. Holden and three of his buddies scrambled to intercept oncoming zeros. To get above the zeros, they
climbed to 23,000 feet and then saw a force of 20 zeros below them. They dived on them, destroying eight zeros and badly damaging six more before the enemy
turned and fled for home.
On May 14, Holden's squadron was directed to destroy antiaircraft installations on Kyushu Island, which was heavily fortified by the Japanese. A 10,000-foot
dive on the installations resulted in the death of Holden's commanding officer, Major Richard Day, whose plane was hit and set on fire. Despite this and other losses, the squadron maintained a kill ratio of 11 to one.
With the surrender of the Japanese, Holden returned to San Diego aboard an aircraft carrier. Immediate check-in at a nearby building was required, and the pilots, eager to see the good old USA again, piled into an elevator that
promptly got stuck between floors. It was a Sunday, devoid of maintenance personnel, and they finally escaped only by climbing through the elevator ceiling. Goodbye, South Pacific. Welcome back to the USA!
After being discharged in January 1946, Holden worked as assistant advertising director at Armstrong (now Armstrong World Industries) and as vice president at
Hubley Manufacturing Company before starting his own toy design company.
As a longstanding member of the Lancaster Country Club, the Hamilton Club and the International Mickey Mouse Club from which he was immediately banned after providing housing for a number stray cats.
For many years prior to his demise, he wrote a tongue in cheek publication at Willow Valley called "The Wrinkle Valley News" where he had close to a thousand readers whom he referred to as "The Inmates of Wrinkle Valley." They fully enjoyed his creative humor and his intention to help them make unwise decisions in their hectic lives.
Jack was widowed ten years ago after sixty-one years of marriage to Elaine Ewing Holden. He has had a number of other wives recently, none of which were his.
Three daughters, Holly, Wendy and Anne Holden and a son, John E. Holden, Jr. have managed to survive despite being related to their father. His last words were "I'm really going to miss myself." Stay tuned for the "Gone Away" party to which the invitation may never come.
In all seriousness, in lieu of flowers, please send donations to Honor Flight, 300 E. Auburn Avenue, Springfield, OH 45505 or www.honorflight.org.
Jack Holden wrote this obituary several years ago.
Online condolences and funny memories of Jack may be posted on our Web site: www.thegroffs.com
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