We Lost Several Tuskegee Airmen This Past Year, As Well As Other Notable Figures In Aviation

Every year, we report on those notable figures in aviation that have made their final departure from the Earth. This year, many remaining Tuskegee Airmen were lost, as well as figures from all aspects of aviation, from sport planes to NASA. Here is the roll call of those who have Gone West during 2015.

January

William E. Boeing Jr., the son of the founder of the aerospace giant, passed away from unknown causes at the age of 92.

Thomas C. McMurtry was respected by peers, admired for his piloting skills and appreciated for his mentoring by many who knew him. The retired NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center research pilot died Jan. 3. He was 79.

Two more of the storied Tuskegee Airmen have gone west, passing on the same day in their respective homes in Los Angeles.

The CAF late last year noted the passing of one of its founding members; Col. Bill Godwin. Godwin passed away December 21 last year.

One of the premier Spitfire airshow pilots to fly on the North American circuit has Gone West. Gerald 'Jerry' Billing passed away January 9.

Air show performer and former ICAS Board member Jan Collmer passed away at his home near Dallas after battling a rare blood disease for several months.

Lieutenant Colonel Edward J. Saylor passed away January 28th at his home in Washington State.

February

The man known as "The Flying Professor" at air shows across the country has Gone West at the age of 85.

When we go to an air show it’s common to focus our attention on the daring pilots and performers, yet what's going on in the background is an important part of the show. The airshow industry has lost a legend with the passing of air show announcer Gordon Bowman-Jones.

There is a changing of the guard. Those brave men and women — yes women WASPs were critical in the war effort delivering airplanes where they were needed and served valiantly in the medical corps — fought and survived WWII, are leaving us at an alarming rate. One aviator whose passing should not go unnoticed is Colonel Charles L. “Chip” Collins, who died at the age of 95.

March

Another of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen has Gone West. The Military Times relays a report from the Riverside (CA) Press-Enterprise that Col. Paul Green passed away at Brightwater Senior Living on Monday. Col. Green was 91.

The family of retired Air Force Colonel Dean Hess has confirmed that he passed away last Monday at his home near Dayton, Ohio at the age of 97.

One of the last of the 80 men to climb aboard 16 B-25 bombers and launch from an aircraft carrier in April 1942 to attack Tokyo has gone west. ANN has learned that Lt. Col. Robert Hite passed away at a nursing home in Nashville, TN.

April

Another of the storied Tuskegee Airmen has Gone West. John Leahr, a native of Cincinnati, OH, passed away at the age of 94.

ANN learned of the passing of Airshow Hall of Famer Johnny Kazian, who was known as the Greatest Wingwalker of All Time.

May

Denver native John Mosley, a Tuskegee Airman who rose to the rank of Lt. Colonel in the U.S. Air Force, passed away Friday at the age of 93.

June

The long-time air boss of the Florida International Air Show has gone west. Bob Hall, who suffered from pancreatic cancer, passed away.

Sonex provided an obituary for Jeremy Monnett, who was fatally injured in an accident in Oshkosh.

Ray Stits, EAA Lifetime 136, aircraft designer and developer/founder of Poly-Fiber coverings, died June 8 of natural causes just under two weeks shy of his 94th birthday.

John W. (Jack) King, former chief of Public Information at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, died June 11, 2015 He was 84.

The NBAA has noted the passing of Otto C. Pobanz, a former NBAA director and leader of the Federated Department Stores flight department for three decades. Pobanz, who was 93, died in his sleep.
 

July

One of the icons of the homebuilding community has Gone West. The Bede company said in a notice posted on its website that Jim Bede passed away July 9, 2015 as a result of an unrecoverable aneurysm suffered at the Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.

Another of the famed Tuskegee Airmen has Gone West.  Lt. Col. Eldridge Williams passed away on July 2 at the age of 97

Pilot Getaways magazine editor John Kounis has unexpectedly Gone West, according to his brother and publisher of the magazine George Kounis.

August

Tuskegee Airman William White has gone west, as the ranks of the storied unit continue to dwindle. White, 88, passed away at his home in Smithfield, VA.
 

Inventor and pilot Dr. Forrest Bird passed away August 2 at his home in Sagle, ID, and during the final few days of his life, friends in their airplanes buzzed Bird's house and museum as a tribute to their colleague.

The last surviving pilot of the "Dambusters" RAF unit has Gone West at a New Zealand hospital. Les Munro was 96.

The retired Marine Corps brigadier general believed to be the oldest surviving fighter ace from WWII has Gone West. Gen. Frederick R. "Fritz" Payne, who was credited with 5 1/2 kills during the months-long Guadalcanal campaign during WWII, died at his home in Rancho Mirage, CA at the age of 104.

September

Ben Kuroki had to overcome a lot of obstacles to fly for the U.S. during WWII ... not least among them was his Japanese heritage.
 

Another of the Tuskegee Airmen has Gone West. The family of 90-year-old Calvin Spann confirmed that he passed away Sunday at his home in Texas.

Joseph Francis Dobronski Sr., an aviator well known in both the test pilot and humanitarian communities, passed away Saturday in Creve Coeur, MO five days shy of his 88th birthday.

Walter (Kappy) Kapryan, whose career with NASA and America's space program spanned more than three decades, died at the age of 95.

EAA announced that Ray Scholler, EAA Lifetime 4000, passed away at the age of 97.

October

British airshow pilot Brian Lecomber has gone west following what was described as a lengthy illness. Lecomber died last Thursday, according to the U.K. magazine Pilot, for which he wrote.

The National Air Transportation Association (NATA) was saddened to learn of the passing of Donald Holbert, Chairman of Central Flying Service.

ANN has learned of the passing of aviation pioneer Dick Taylor. His death was noted by GAMA president and CEO Pete Bunce on the association's website.

The leader of NASA’s human spaceflight programs in the tumultuous 1960s, Dr. George E. Mueller passed away after a short illness.

November

ANN received word over the weekend that Steve Bennett, a past president of EAA Chapter 80 in Omaha, NE, has passed away following what was described as a "long battle with cancer."

Dan Poynter, the author of "Parachuting: The Skydiver's Handbook" and many other titles, passed away Monday following a recent diagnosis of acute myeloid leukemia and renal failure. He was 77 years old.

One of the last remaining instructors for the Tuskegee Airmen passed away at Piedmont Henry Hospital near Atlanta, GA passed away at the age of 96.

December

Ron Scott, who for more than 50 years was involved in multiple facets of the EAA organization while also making a notable contribution to the homebuilt aircraft community, died at age 82.

His was a harrowing story told in the book "A Fighter Pilot In Buchenwald." But fighter pilot Joe Moser survived the brutal concentration camp and lived to tell the tale ... though he rarely did so. Moser, who was shot down on his 44th mission over France, passed away at his home in Ferndale, WA December 2 at the age of 94.

(Editor's note: Others who have "Gone West" have been mentioned in other installments of our annual look back)

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