HAPPY 100th BIRTHDAY, JACK
Article by: Geoffrey Holland
Please wish Captain Jack Race a happy 100th birthday. The man who flew the plane to sign the peace in 1945. On May 30th Jack will be 100 years young. We met in 1987 when I joined the Orbis Flying Eye Hospital, a DC-8 jet converted into a teaching hospital, dedicated to saving sight worldwide and fostering peaceful international cooperation. Jack was our chief pilot.
Jack had a distinguished flying career and has a unique place in history. He was the pilot who flew the German Chief of Staff Alfred Jodl to sign the peace in Reims to end World War Two in Europe. I treasure a copy of his historic flight log of May 6, 1945.
Jack was a flight instructor, crop duster and bush pilot. With Pan Am he flew DC-4s and DC-6s, was a training pilot, line training captain and DC-8 instructor. When he retired from Pan Am he was a 747 captain and had logged 26,000 hours as an airline pilot.
In retirement, Jack flew with Orbis for 5 years from 1984. In 1989 in his beloved red Waco biplane he duplicated Charles Lindbergh’s 1927 US goodwill tour, flying 22,350 miles, with 78 stops in 48 states. He named his plane 'Spirit of Orbis'.
This article tells a little of Jack’s story: https://drive.google.com/.../1wD0q0vyPxkTb7JN.../view...
2020 WNEP Interview with jack
Click on WNEP button to be REdirected to
Mr. Race's INTERVIEW |
CARBONDALE, Pa. — Captain John "Jack" Race was a pilot with the 9th Air Force in Europe during World War II. He flew one year for the British 21st Army Group as personal pilot to the British Chief of Staff. Jack is 98 years old, about to be 99 on May 30th. On this day in 1945, he was just a 22-year-old pilot who was about to be a part of history.
I flew the German generals and the English High Command down to Reims where the great surrender," said Race. Germany had surrendered defeat in Europe but before this declaration happened. Jack recalls the Battle of the Bulge. As the Germans attacked, his job was to fly the British High Command staff safely out of Brussels.
"The weather was, as we say, a bit dicey. There was no real aged navigation. You flew by dead reckoning and looking at the ground. It was touch and go but we made it to France." Jack said he was never afraid while serving in the war. He felt confident he would make it home at all times because of his detailed planning and God in his heart, along with two important rules he feels kept him safe then and now. "Never take anything for granted. The second rule was, know your limitations as a pilot. Know that there are certain things that are beyond you."
Jack stayed in the skies after leaving the Air Force. He spent 35 years as a pilot with PanAm before retiring. Jack has many memories to share and wants people to remember the significance of this day 75 years ago.
I flew the German generals and the English High Command down to Reims where the great surrender," said Race. Germany had surrendered defeat in Europe but before this declaration happened. Jack recalls the Battle of the Bulge. As the Germans attacked, his job was to fly the British High Command staff safely out of Brussels.
"The weather was, as we say, a bit dicey. There was no real aged navigation. You flew by dead reckoning and looking at the ground. It was touch and go but we made it to France." Jack said he was never afraid while serving in the war. He felt confident he would make it home at all times because of his detailed planning and God in his heart, along with two important rules he feels kept him safe then and now. "Never take anything for granted. The second rule was, know your limitations as a pilot. Know that there are certain things that are beyond you."
Jack stayed in the skies after leaving the Air Force. He spent 35 years as a pilot with PanAm before retiring. Jack has many memories to share and wants people to remember the significance of this day 75 years ago.