Remembering those who served: John J. Colsch

by Maury Gallagher

John J. Colsch, son of Peter and Annie (Mettille) Colsch, was born at his grandfather’s house south of New Albin, Iowa. John was named after his father’s brother, John W. Colsch, who, at that time, was serving in WWII in the Army Air Force as a B-26 pilot. John W. was subsequently killed in action during a bombing mission in France.
John J. attended New Albin public schools for grades one through nine, and then transferred to Lansing St. George High School, where he graduated in1961. He then attended Maryknoll College in Glenn Ellyn, IL, graduating with a Bachelor Degree in Scholastic Philosophy with a minor in Psychology.
“I wanted to get into the service to serve my country,” he said, and on September 28, 1968 he reported to Lackland Air Force Base in Texas for Officer Training School (OTS). He completed OTS and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant December 20, 1968. Following commissioning, John was assigned to Moody Air Force Base (AFB) in Georgia for undergraduate pilot training. At Moody AFB, John flew the Cessna 172, the T-37 and the T-38 training aircraft.
He was awarded his silver pilot’s wings in January 1970. Following winter survival school, his next stop was at Little Rock AFB in Arkansas for Phase I pilot training in the C-130 Hercules aircraft.
First flown in 1954, the C-130 is a remarkably capable and versatile aircraft. A four-engine aircraft, it has the capability for short field takeoffs and landings. In 1963, a Marine Corps KC-130 landed on an aircraft carrier. Over the years, a variety of models of the C-130 have served as cargo planes, attack gun ships (nicknamed “Spectre” in Vietnam for its massive firepower), electronic warfare, aerial refueling, special operations (e.g. “Desert One” Iran hostage rescue mission), command and control and many more special missions. John completed Phase II training in the C-130 at Pope AFB in North Carolina.
John’s first operational command was the 774th Tactical Airlift Squadron at Clark AFB in the Philippines. After he completed Jungle Survival Training, he would be sent on Temporary Duty (TDY) to Cam Ranh Bay Air Field in Vietnam for two-week periods. During those two-week periods he would fly a variety of missions, which included ammo and fuel re-supply, passenger transport, airdrops, and medevacs. He also served two sixty-day periods in Vietnam as Briefing Officer for the 834th Air Division. In that capacity, he briefed aircrews on their assigned missions.
During the war in Iraq, the “Mother Of All Bombs,” a huge, 21,000-pound bomb, was used a few times. The bomb was so big it had to be dropped out of the back end of a C-130 aircraft. The predecessor of that bomb was the 15,000-pound BLU-82 and it too was dropped by a C-130.
“During my service in Vietnam,” John said, “I got to drop two BLU-82s. We used them to cut out helicopter pads in triple-tier jungle. It made nice pads. Some of my cohorts used them to make road cuts in the Ho Chi Minh trail.”
In June of 1971, John and Cindy Fleck, an Air Force nurse, were married in the Philippines. Later that year they were transferred to Forbes Airfield in Kansas, where John flew C-130s on a variety of missions.
John’s next duty station was Little Rock AFB, Arkansas, where he was assigned to the 48th Tactical Airlift Squadron. In that squadron he flew C-130s all over the U. S. and made TDY trips to Europe and South America for military transport, readiness exercises and other purposes, such as re-supply of American embassies.
After about 18 months in the tactical airlift business, John was assigned as a C-130 Phase-I Instructor. The following year he was upgraded to Evaluator Pilot. He attended a three-month Aircraft Mishap Investigation School at Norton Air Force Base in California. That course was taught by professors from the University of Southern California. He then returned to Little Rock and continued training new C-130 pilots.
In the summer of 1977, John was selected for training for Special Operations. He was transferred to Hurlburt Field, Florida in preparation for his assignment to the 1st SOS (Special Operations Squadron). He was then transferred to Kadena Airbase in Okinawa, Japan, where he flew the MC-130, an aircraft outfitted for special operations. While in the 1st SOS, he flew with Hal Lewis, who became a good friend.
“Hal told me,” John said, “that if he ever got assigned to a really tough mission, he wanted me as his co-pilot.” About two years later, Hal Lewis was killed during Operation Eagle Claw/Desert One, the failed mission to rescue the hostages in Iran. Hal died when a helicopter crashed into his C-130. Col J.V.O. Weaver, who also flew a C-130 on that mission, remembered the words his friend Hal Lewis spoke just before they departed on that mission. “J.V.O.,” Lewis said, “this is going to be bad. Someone is not coming back from this.” Eight Americans died at Desert One.
By the time Desert One was launched, John had been transferred to the 18th Tactical Fighter Group (TFG) and was not eligible for that mission. “After I p retired from the Air Force, I went to Arlington National Cemetery to visit his grave,” John said. “I was not able to actually visit the grave until my fourth trip there. I guess I thought that should have been my grave.”
At the 18th TFG, John served as Plans Officer. “I authored the Kadena Air Base Plan for space shuttle support in case it had problems and had to land in Kadena. I briefed the Japanese Ambassador General on that plan. I also authored the Kadena Support Plan for support of Vietnamese refugee flights. The first overnight support for a refugee flight went without a hitch, including the birth of a baby,” John said.
From Kadena, John was transferred to Norton AFB near San Bernardino, CA. Assigned to the Air Force Inspection and Safety Center, Bomber/Transport/Tanker Branch, he served as the Air Force C-130, C-123, and C-9 aircraft Flight Safety Officer. “I was worried about 723 C-130s, nine C-9s, and C-123s,” he said. “While there, I assisted the National Transportation and Safety Board in an investigation of an Air Canada DC-9 with an in-flight fire that landed and burned at Greater Cincinnati Airport. Only 23 of the 46 people aboard that aircraft survived. I then briefed all major Air Force commands on the investigation results and procedures for inflight fires on passenger aircraft. Just one outcome of that investigation that most people would be familiar with is the line of egress lights that all passenger planes now have on the floor along the edges of the aisles.”
In 1982, John completed The Air Force Command and Staff College and in 1983, the Air War College. His final tour of duty was as Chief of Flight Safety at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards AFB in the Mojave Desert. “On my first day in the job,” John said, “we lost our first B-1 Bomber.” One of John’s duties was to review aircraft test plans for safety issues as they worked their way through the approval process. “One plan,” John said, “was for low-speed test flights in the F-4 Phantom fighter jet. They had mounted a heavy weight in the nose of the aircraft. When I asked if the aircraft structure was built to sustain that much weight, I was told that there were a lot of heavier things put in the nose of an F-4. I didn’t like that answer, and couldn’t get a better one, so I did not approve the test plan. The plan was then taken to the Wing Commander, and then on to a two-star general for resolution. Ultimately, the test was modified. The low-speed/high-angle of attack portion of the test was modified to prevent low-speed stall that could have resulted in loss of the aircraft. General Twinting, the Flight Test Center Commander, told me to ‘Keep asking questions like that.’ I took great pride in being able to note the potential for danger, and to ask the right questions to prevent accidents.”
After 20 years of service, John retired from the Air Force as a Major October 1, 1988. He had accumulated over 3,000 flight hours. In addition to numerous other awards and commendations, John earned the following awards: Meritorious Service Medal with one device, Air Medal with one device, Air Force Commendation Medal, Vietnam Service Medal, Presidential Unit Commendation, Republic of Vietnam Gallantry Cross with device, and Republic of Vietnam campaign Medal.
John’s wife, Cindy, passed away June 18, 1997. He has four children, Peter, Andrew, Susan and Thomas. Peter served eight years in the Air Force, and Andrew, a Master Sergeant in the Air Force, is nearing 20 years of service and is currently stationed at Vandenberg AFB in California. John now makes his home in New Albin.