Benjamin Evan Colkitt, Jr.

CDR. BENJAMIN EVAN COLKITT, JR. USN (Ret.) January 23, 1921- May 4, 2007 After 86 years of devotion to his country, family, friends and profession, Cdr. (USN Ret.) Benjamin E. Colkitt has taken his final flight. Predeceased by parents Benjamin and Isabel Colkitt, siblings Robert Bowne Colkitt and Doris McElroy and nephew Brad Jenkins. Survived by his wife Donna, his son Ben Colkitt III (wife Natalie Frei), daughters Michelle Colkitt (Steven Schneider), Candace James (Derek James), and Caralyn Colkitt. Eleven grandchildren, 2 god children (Mehgan and Sarah McAuliffe), sister in law Evaline Colkitt, brother in law Paul McElroy, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews. Dad loved to fly, and he channeled that love into a life of service to country and family. Dad was born into an old Quaker family, which settled and lived for many generations in Mount Holly, New Jersey. It was a short journey to Philadelphia, and when Charles 'Lucky' Lindbergh returned there for a triumphal parade after the first Trans Atlantic flight in 1927, Dad was there, cheering mightily. His passion for flying had been sparked, and it burned intensely for the rest of his life. Dad kept an aviation scrapbook, built models, pursued an aviation merit badge in the Boy Scouts, and lived for the day when he would take his first flight. Dad's father moved his textile plant to Waynesville, North Carolina soon after the Lindbergh parade. A Yankee boy in the rural South, Dad immersed himself in Scouting and dreams of flight, and became the first Eagle Scout in Haywood County. He also earned the God and Country Award. Dad continued his interest in Scouting, and was a Scoutmaster for many years. The Scouting motto, 'Be Prepared', informed the whole of his life. Dad excelled academically in high school, and was accepted to and graduated from Davidson College, a Presbyterian school whose faith he ultimately adopted. Dad spent every spare dime he had on private flight lessons while at Davidson, taking his first flight in a 37 HP Aeronica in September of 1939. Subsequent flights of thirty to forty minutes led to a solo flight on Oct 30, 1939 and pilot test on December 11, l939. He continued flight lessons as funds became available through out college years. During his senior year a Navy Recruiter visited Charlotte and Ben was accepted for cadet training. The Navy insisted that he complete his remaining semester and graduate in May l942. A week after graduation, he received orders to Navy Preflight school at the University of Georgia at Athens. A slender young man, Dad had to force feed a huge number of bananas to make the minimum weight requirement. His early service nickname was 'Bones'. In November of 1942, he received orders to Navy primary flight school at Anacosta, D.C. In February, 1943 he received orders to Naval Aviation Training in Pensacola Florida. He was designated a Naval Aviator on May 7, 1943. He then received orders to be a flight instructor at Saufley Field, Pensacola until March 1944. Orders followed to Operational training in SBDs at Cecil Field in Jacksonville through June 1944. On 6 June l943, he was carrier qualified on the USS Wolverine. Orders followed to Photo Recon Squadron 5 at San Diego NAS. Orders to Fighter Squadron One followed in January, 1945. The squadron as part of Air Group One deployed to the western Pacific area, and boarded the USS Bennington (CV 20) in Task Group 38.1 as part of Task Force 38 operating against the home islands of Japan. Dad flew a number of combat missions and was awarded three air medals. In August, while preparing to launch on another strike at targets in Japan, the strike was cancelled. Dad later found out it was because the first atomic bomb had just been dropped on Hiroshima. He flew in the 1000 plane flight over the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay during the surrender ceremonies. Later that month, he flew photo recon flights over Japan locating POW camps. Dad was recently contacted by the survivors of some of those camps, whose memories of the American fighter planes signaling the American victory and their imminent liberation remain vivid and emotional. Following WWII, Dad received orders to Fighter Squadron Four, which went aboard the USS Tarawa (CV 40). The Tarawa headed south out of Norfolk, went through the Panama Canal, and then out into the South Pacific area for a year. Following that tour, Dad got orders to the Atlantic fleet Night Fighter group at Key West and then Atlantic City. Detachment tours took him to the Caribbean, and to the Mediterranean. Following that tour of duty he received orders to the Navy Line School at Newport, R.I. There, Lt. Colkitt met Ensign Donna Mueller, the love of his life. Shortly thereafter, on May 19th, 1950, they were married in a traditional Navy ceremony at the base Navy Chapel, exiting the chapel under the crossed swords of their friends and fellow officers. Their love for each other was constant and grew though out their marriage of almost 57 years. The union produced four children, and eleven grandchildren. Dad was a family man, and whenever he gave thanks at the dinner table, it was for 'the blessings of family'. Shore duty followed as an instructor in the All Weather Flight School in Corpus Christi, Texas. In 1952, orders were received to CIC training in Glenview, Illinois. On May 25, 1952, son Benjamin III was born at the Great Lakes Naval Station. Sea duty followed as Air Ops Officer on the USS Badoeng Strait (CVE 116) in the Yellow Sea off the west coast of Korea. While the ship was in the shipyard at San Francisco daughter Michelle was born at the Naval Hospital at Oak Knoll on May 15, 1953. During shore duty at NAS Jacksonville, daughters Candace and Caralyn were born on February 14th, 1957. Following that, orders were received to Fighter Squadron 114 as Executive Officer flying F9F Panthers off the USS Kearsarge off the east coast of Korea. During duty as Executive Officer of the Nuclear Weapons Training Center in San Diego, he retired from the Navy in 1964. In June of 1964, Ben joined United Airlines at the Training Center in Denver as a Simulator Instructor, where he was typed on 727, 737, and DC 8. Ben also was typed in Lear Jets as part of his work as a general aviation instructor for 25 years. Unable to completely retire from flying, he continued in contract and general aviation instruction. After 58 years of flying, he finally retired from aviation. Even then, he couldn't stay away, and he volunteered at DIA and spent numerous hours at his computer on various flight simulation programs. He was a long time member of the Order of Quiet Birdmen, the Order of the Daedalians, the Tailhook Association, and the Naval Aviation Association. He is deeply missed by his family.