John Pershing "Jack" Greathouse
Sex: M
Individual Information
Birth: Abt 1919 - Willis Point, , Texas 9
Christening:
Death: 30 Aug 2005 - Biloxi, , Mississippi
Burial: in Biloxi - Biloxi National Cemetery, , Mississippi
Cause of Death:
Parents
Father: John G. Greathouse (1891-1924) 9
Mother: Lela Jacobs (Abt 1900- ) 9
Spouses and Children
1. *Doris R.
Children:
1. John Pershing Greathouse Jr.
2. Gina F. Greathouse
3. Terre Greathouse
4. James F. Greathouse
Notes
General:
He passed away the day after Katrina. His funeral was delayed because of the storm as his felow Coast Guard members rescused thousands in the Mississippi and Louisiana coasts.
N MEMORIAM
IN MEMORIAM
ADCMAP John Pershing Greathouse
USCG - the last enlisted military pilot
(Memorial and photo1 used with permission from Don Boyd of Sunbird Photos )
1974 photo depicts ADCMAP John Pershing Greathouse (right) reenlisting for three more years in 1974.
~ In Memoriam for ADCMAP John P. Greathouse, the last Coast Guard enlisted pilot ~
ADCMAP John P. Greathouse, 86 and a retired Coast Guard pilot, died on August 30, 2005, at Biloxi, Mississippi from complications from Alzheimer's disease. Mr. Greathouse was born in Wills Point, Texas and lived in Biloxi for 26 years. He was a Coast Guard World War II veteran and attended Texas A&M University.
A man of very humble beginnings, he accomplished many records for the U. S. Coast Guard. He entered Coast Guard recruit training in October 1941 and served at the Fort Point Lifeboat Station, CA, as a Seaman 1st Class. A year later he entered flight training and graduated as an Aviation Pilot from the Naval Aviation Training Center, Pensacola, FL, in August 1943.
On September 25, 1945, while on temporary duty at Coast Guard Air Station Brooklyn, he and AD3 John Smith bailed out of their HOS-1G helicopter over Philadelphia after control of the helicopter was lost due to heavy winds. This was the first ever bailout from a helicopter.
He passed his own flight-time record of 12,000 hours in 1973 and had the most flight hours on record at the time of his retirement in 1979. He was the last enlisted pilot among any of the military services.
Mr. Greathouse is honored at the Naval Air Museum in Pensacola, and alongside the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, N.C. The Coast Guard Aviation Training Center in Mobile, AL dedicated its main boulevard after him.
Mr. Greathouse was preceded in death by his brothers, Hubbard and Reginald Greathouse. Survivors include his beloved wife of 58 years, Doris R. Greathouse, and four loving children and a grandson, Terre Matranga, John Greathouse Jr., Gina F. Greathouse, James F. Greathouse and Matthew Greathouse.
Family services were held at Bradford-O'Keefe Funeral Home on Pass Road, Biloxi with Church of Christ Minister Roger Mills on September 23, 2005. He was laid to rest at Biloxi National Cemetery.
He is greatly loved by his family and will be sadly missed.
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From: Mary Bogdanski
I looked John P and his family up on the census records. He and his two older brothers are on the 1930 Hunt Co, Peniel,TX Boles Orphan's Home at 11 (John), 12 (Reginald ) and (Hubbard) 13. Their parents were John G and Lela Jacobs Greathouse who lived in Rains Co, Point, TX when the 1920 census was taken. John G appeared with his father Hubbard Peyton Greathouse and Sarah E Hix on both the 1900 Van Zandt Co 3J-Pct and the 1910 Van Zandt 3J-Pct along with his siblings.
Hubbard Peyton Greathouse is a son of Archibald Greathouse and Mary Ann Walker.