Page 12 - DFCS News Magazine Summer 2014

We lost an outstanding supporter of the DFC Society in April. The following is an article I wrote that was delivered at his memorial service in Summerlin by Las Vegas Chapter Presiden, Jack Donahue.
“When Jack Mates’ daughter, Mary Anne Morrison, asked me to write a letter about her father to be read at his memorial service, I agreed, but really didn’t know where to begin. I initially thought about covering his entire life, but quickly realized that was not very feasible. I inally settled on the two parts of Jack’s amazing life that I knew best, his heroic WWII days and his extremely pro- ductive time with the Distinguished Flying Cross Society.
Jack joined the Army Air Corps in November 1942 when he was 19 years old and received his wings in 1944. He became quali ied to ly the B-17 Flying Fortress and was assigned to the 341st Bom- bardment Squadron at a base near Naples, Italy. Jack’s missions involved dropping bombs against heavily defended targets in both Germany and other occupied areas. He had to keep his plane in formation while being attacked by ighters and lak. His plane was frequently heavily damaged by enemy ire, but he courageously managed to bring it and his crew home every time without any loss of life.
As a result, Jack was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross which is our nation’s highest aviation award and the fourth highest com- bat award. His citation gives you a small picture of what he did to Sreceive this prestigious medal.
econd Lieutenant Jack M. Mates is awarded the Distinguished
Flying Cross for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial light against the enemy in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations. Throughout many long and hazardous combat missions against vital strategic targets deep in enemy occupied territory, though confronted by heavy enemy opposition from highly aggres- sive enemy ighters and intense and accurate anti-aircraft ire, Lieu- tenant Mates consistently displayed outstanding courage, aggres- siveness and intense devotion to duty throughout all engagements. With his aircraft frequently severely damaged by heavy enemy ire, Lieutenant Mates courageously remained at his station, battling his way through to his targets to aid materially in the utter destruction of vitally important enemy installations and supplies. Heedless of severe and adverse weather conditions encountered over rugged mountainous terrain and surmounting many other major obstacles that faced him during these hazardous combat missions, Lieutenant Mates gallantly engaged, fought and defeated the enemy with com- plete disregard for his personal safety and against overwhelming odds. The conspicuous and extraordinary achievements throughout these many missions against the enemy have been of inestimable value to successful combat operations and have re lected great cred- it upon himself and the Armed Forces of the United States of Ameri- ca.” HiscitationcanbereadontheDFCSocietywebsite: www.dfcsociety.org.
I personally think that Jack Mates symbolizes the essence of the “Greatest Generation” as he voluntarily joined the military to bring the ight directly to the enemy while defending this great country, fought courageously when the odds were high that you would not survive 25 missions, inished his tour with 61 missions, was dis- charged, had an illustrious civilian career and seldom spoke of his war service except with other DFCS members.
I want to discuss the second phase of Jack’s civilian career which was with The Distinguished Flying Cross Society. Jack was one of the founding members helping Al Ciurczak get the organization’s of icial approval from California and the IRS in 1994. He was on
By Chuck Sweeney
the irst Board of Directors along with Al, Bill Coats and Wayne Turner, served as the President, became the irst Chairman of the Board and when he reached term limits, the Board approved him as the very irst Chairman Emeritus.
Jack worked tirelessly to help the ledgling organization reach out to veterans and active duty personnel who had received the DFC ,and they did a fantastic job as initially it was primarily by phone or snail mail. After he became Chairman Emeritus, Jack did not stop supporting the DFC Society, as he started answering the numerous emails that came into the website asking various questions about the organization. Once he moved to Las Vegas, he became the linch- pin for the local DFCS Chapter and kept it going. He also helped with the DFCS convention in Las Vegas in 2006. In my mind, howev- er, these were not his greatest contributions. His willingness to irst mentor Michael O’Neil as President and then mentor me when I relieved Michael was above and beyond what you would expect. It seemed like there was always something new popping up during our tenures, so we would ask Jack for his advice or if he had ever run into some particular problem. We could always depend on him to steer us in the right direction.
Jack was a true gentleman in every sense of the word. I never heard him criticize anyone or tell me that was a stupid question or that he didn’t have time to talk to me. Even when he wasn’t feeling good, he was always available for discussions and would frequently call me to see how some Society project was progressing. There are so many things that he did for us that I can’t even begin to list them all as it would be a very long list. Jack would probably argue with me about this, but I can say absolutely that he was a true American Hero, a gracious gentleman and a fantastic mentor.
Jack, you will be sorely missed but you are now free from pain and with your beloved wife, Harriette, and many of your comrades who preceded you on the light west. Also Jack, the entire DFC Society, and in particular, the Board of Directors, salutes you for your dedi- cation to the organization and I personally thank you for your wis- dom, insight and never ending support. Rest in well-deserved peace my fantastic friend.
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