MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2010 Regular Session
To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Dearing, Browning, Butler, Carmichael, Chassaniol, Clarke, Davis, Fillingane, Frazier, Jackson (11th), Jackson (15th), Jackson (32nd), Jones, King, Kirby, Lee (35th), McDaniel, Mettetal, Moffatt, Montgomery, Powell, Simmons, Stone, Ward, Watson, Wilemon
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION MOURNING THE LOSS AND COMMENDING THE LIFE OF COLONEL JOHN "JACK" PITCHFORD, P.O.W. AND VIETNAM WAR HERO FROM NATCHEZ, MISSISSIPPI.
WHEREAS, Vietnam Prisoner of War and decorated Veteran Colonel John "Jack" Pitchford of Natchez, Mississippi, passed away on December 2, 2009; and
WHEREAS, Colonel Pitchford was born on May 29, 1927, in Natchez, the son of John Joseph Pitchford and Inez Theresa Hunter Pitchford. He was a 1944 graduate of St. Joseph's Catholic High School. Majoring in forestry, he graduated from Louisiana State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in May 1952 and received his Air Force commission through the school's Reserve Officer Training Corps Program in August of the same year; and
WHEREAS, Colonel Pitchford entered the U.S. Army Reserve in August 1944, and was assigned duties as an armament and engineering mechanic. He was called to active duty in July 1945, near the conclusion of World War II and remained in this status until being discharged in December 1946. In November 1949, he re-entered the Army Reserve as a basic rifleman and remained in the reserves until February 1951; and
WHEREAS, on entering the Air Force in June 1952, Colonel Pitchford was selected for pilot training. He received his primary flight training at Bartow Air Force Base, Florida. In March 1953, the Colonel was sent to James Connally Air Force Base, Texas to receive basic pilot training; and
WHEREAS, after receiving his wings in September 1953, the Colonel was sent to Arizona for three months to attend F-84 combat crew training at Williams and Luke Air Force Bases. In January 1954, Colonel Pitchford received his first operational assignment as an F-84 fighter pilot and bomb commander with the 8th Fighter Bomber Squadron. He remained in this position until December 1962, when he moved to Kunsan Air Force Base (AFB), Korea, as an air operations officer with Detachment 2 of the 39th Air Division; and
WHEREAS, returning to the United States in February 1964, Colonel Pitchford became the plans and logistics officer of the 27th Tactical Fighter Wing at Cannon Air Force Base, New Mexico. In June 1965, the Colonel was selected to attend the United States Air Force Fighter Weapons School. Upon graduation he volunteered to participate in the Air Force's WILD WEASEL Program; and
WHEREAS, developed to nullify the threat that North Vietnamese surface-to-air missiles posed to U.S. fighter-bombers, the WILD WEASEL Program employed F-100 fighters in near ground level, below enemy radar penetrations targeted directly against the heavily defended SAM sites; and
WHEREAS, after receiving specialized WILD WEASEL training at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, Colonel Pitchford was sent to Korat RTAFB, Thailand, in November 1965, as an F-100 WILD WEASEL pilot/operations analyst. On December 20, Colonel Pitchford's aircraft was hit by ground fire on a WILD WEASEL mission near Hanoi, North Vietnam. Captured and taken prisoner shortly after bailing out of his crippled plane, he remained a prisoner of war for more than seven years until repatriated on February 12, 1973; and
WHEREAS, on returning to U.S. military control, the Colonel became a patient at the March Air Force Base, California hospital, where he remained until July 1974. He retired from active duty in 1976; and
WHEREAS, Colonel Pitchford attended the Air War College, Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, in August 1974, graduating in June of the following year. The Colonel became Commander of Air Force Communications Security Center in July 1975; and
WHEREAS, Colonel Pitchford's military decorations and awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star with one Oak Leaf Cluster (OLC), the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star with V (Valor) Device with one OLC, the Air Force Commendation Medal with one OLC, the Purple Heart with one OLC, the Air Force Outstanding Unit Award and POW Medal. He was promoted to the temporary grade of Colonel on April 15, 1974; and
WHEREAS, he was a member of St. Mary Basilica; a lifetime member of Knights of Columbus; and a member of Krewe of Killarney, serving as "St. Patrick" in 2005. In 1973, he was honored by Louisiana State University being named "Alumni of the Year." Colonel Pitchford was also a member of the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association and the Society of the Wild Weasels; and
WHEREAS, survivors include four brothers, Thomas "Tom" Pitchford (Joan), and James "Jim" Pitchford (Leigh), all of Baton Rouge, Richard Pitchford of Natchez and Gerald Pitchford (Yara), of Santa Fe, New Mexico; three sisters, Mary C. Loomis of Lafayette, Louisiana, Inez Marlow and husband, Ovis, and Judy Bartley, all of Natchez; two sisters-in-law, Patti Pitchford of Norfolk, Virginia and Sherry Pitchford of Memphis, Tennessee; and a number of nieces and nephews; and
WHEREAS, we remember Colonel Pitchford's selfless service with reverence and a grateful state and nation will never forget his service:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby mourn the loss and commend the life of Colonel John "Jack" Pitchford, Prisoner of War and Vietnam War hero from Natchez, Mississippi, and express our sympathy to his surviving family on his passing and our thanks for his selfless service to his country.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Colonel Pitchford, forwarded to the Commanding General of the Army and made available to the Capitol Press Corps.