Moore, John T. 


Colonel John T. Moore, 84, of Longview, died Monday, July 31, 2006, at a Longview hospital. 
He was born March 21, 1922, in Big Spring, to Landy and Minnie Moore. John had an extensive 
military history that began with his enlistment in 1941 in the U.S. Army Air Corp. and 
concluded in 1971 with his retirement as a full colonel. The following was taken from John's 
handwritten account of his service to our country. "John enlisted in the Army Air Corp. In 
1941 where he served as an aircraft mechanic. He then attended flight school where he was 
promoted from Cpl. to Staff Sgt. In 1942, John advanced to a commissioned flight officer 
then moved to 2nd Lt. in 1943. In 1944, John became 1st Lt. and served in England, India 
and Italy. He flew cargo across the North Atlantic to England and was the 5th cargo plane 
to land at Orly airport in Paris during the invasion of France. John flew the "hump" from 
India to China for one year in unarmed cargo aircraft for 650 combat hours. He was later 
assigned to special Air Mission (S.A.M.) at Washington National Airport for six years 
flying V.I.P. and was temporarily assigned to the first Air Force One during the Eisenhower 
Administration. Having been promoted to Major, John completed 107 flights into Berlin during 
Airlift. While flying 4-engine jets, (c-135) as Lt. Colonel, he completed three round-the-world 
flights on the Embassy run in both directions and over the North Pole to England. John was 
promoted to full Colonel six years before retirement in June 1971. He was a commercial pilot 
for 10 years and during his flying career, he accumulated 18,000 hours flight time." John was 
a member of the order of Daedalian, Troa, Sergeant Pilot Association, the Air Stream Travel 
Club, and the Cherokee Golf Course. He was preceded in death by brother, Walter. Survivors 
include his loving wife of 62 years, Vivian Moore of Longview; daughters, Vicki Marie Ferns 
and husband, Ronald ,of Sacramento, California, and Jo Ann Moore of Longview; grandchildren, 
Kevin and Curtis Ferns of Sacramento, California; great-grandchildren, Alex, Catherine, and 
Riley Ferns; brother, Joe Moore; and sisters, Kay Sewell, Thelma Jean Riney, and Maxine 
Vanderburg. Funeral services, with full military honors, will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, 
August 4, 2006, at Lakeview Funeral Home. For those unable to attend, online condolences may 
be offered at www.mem.com.

Published in the Longview News-Journal on 8/3/2006