2015 Fourth of July Tribute to Jack Donovan

Jul 4, 2015, 10:57 AM

Dear Friends,

Upon graduation from Clemson University in Electrical Engineering in 1975, I had the great fortune of landing a job at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, to start my career in electronic warfare. As a civilian employee, I worked with a talented group of engineers comprised of members of the military, other civilians, and high tech companies primarily from Silicon Valley near San Francisco, California. The group included one of the most colorful characters I have ever known who had recently retired from the Air Force and was serving as the customer liaison for one of the main companies involved. His name was Jack Donovan.

Jack’s fundamental message was for us to always do everything possible to protect the aircrews. During the next several years, I learned more about Jack Donovan and why everyone listened whenever he spoke. His language, style and mannerisms were colorful. His integrity, seriousness, and purpose were unquestioned. He challenged everyone to work hard and think smart and immediately thereafter to work even harder and think a lot smarter. Many years later he told me that I was the hardest working engineer he had ever met and thanked me for my innovative thinking. In the following paragraphs which involve Jack’s life ten years earlier, you will see why receiving his praise is a highlight of my life.

On July 24, 1965, a United States Air Force F-4 was shot down over North Vietnam by a surface-to-air-missile (SAM). As the war continued, aircraft and pilot losses to the SAMs mounted. The Air Force’s solution was a dedicated aircraft whose sole mission would be to detect and demolish the SAM sites. “Project Weasel” called for the installation of radar homing and warning equipment which would allow the aircrew to get a bearing on a SAM when it turned on its radar and subsequently detect launch conditions.

The remaining step in the project was to choose aircrews for the new "Weasel" aircraft. Each aircrew was made up of a pilot and an electronic warfare officer (EWO). The EWO was responsible for monitoring the new equipment essentially being the eyes and ears of the aircraft for the pilot. The pilots were among the best the Air Force had to offer. The EWO's were picked from the ranks of B-52 bomber aircrews and were experts in radar and electronics. The relationships between the pilot and the EWO became extremely close with each man relying on the other for their survival.

The equipment and tactics were new to the pilots and EWO's. The training was rushed and soon the aircrews were informed of their mission to locate and destroy North Vietnamese surface-to-air-missile positions. There was one catch however. To locate the SAM sites, the Weasels had to fly into North Vietnamese airspace in advance of a strike force, let themselves be tracked by the SAM radar, and then be fired upon by the SAM site. With North Vietnam's thick foliage, this was the only way of finding the SAM sites.

The new Weasel crews were surprised to hear the specifics of their new mission, which was essentially a suicide mission. One of the new weasels, EWO Captain Jack Donovan, summed up the feelings of all, when he said:
“You want me to fly in the back of a little tiny fighter aircraft with a crazy fighter pilot who thinks he's invincible, home in on a SAM site in North Vietnam, and shoot it before it shoots me, you gotta be shi##in me!"
(I would imagine that after saying this Jack immediately burst into laughter and said well let’s go. By the way, the acronym YGBSM originating from Jack’s well known response is still used within certain Air Force communities today).

The Weasel crews went forward with their suicide mission, and in early November 1965, they deployed. Captains Allen Lamb (pilot) and Jack Donovan (EWO) achieved the first Wild Weasel SAM kill on Dec. 22, 1965, while covering a strike force northwest of Hanoi. Captain Donovan began picking up radar signals and called out the coordinates. Captain Lamb guided their aircraft to the site and spotted the camouflaged radar van. He attacked it with a salvo of 2.75-inch rockets and 20mm fire, destroying the van and a nearby SAM. The cabled message to the Joint Chiefs of Staff read:
"Weasel sighted SAM--killed same."

Lamb and Donovan were each awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross. The original Weasels suffered a fifty-percent casualty rate. Their story is one of courage, determination, dedication, and perseverance. For forty years, Jack’s motivation during my early career has driven me to work every day with the recognition that someone’s life may depend on my efforts. I would imagine that many others have been similarly motivated. For nobody ever met Jack Donovan without immediately becoming a better person.

Major John Edward "Jack" Donovan, Sr. (USAF Ret), 82, died peacefully at his home in Tucson, AZ twelve weeks ago on Saturday, April 11, 2015.

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If this link works, you can see a 30 minute film of the Weasel story mentioned above. Jack Donovan first appears at 4:37 and is shown often from that point in the film. Notice Jack's dry wit humor between 8:27 – 9:30 during the interlaced clips of Jack and his pilot Allen Lamb. Dr. John Grigsby who appears from 7:10 – 7:20 also passed away earlier this year. He was an extraordinary engineering visionary and another national treasure. I worked with the engineers interviewed throughout the film. Notice how serious they took their jobs. I learned from the best. Clemson University equipped me to be ready to take advantage of an extraordinary opportunity and for this I am forever grateful. Please copy and paste the following link if necessary:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TBpswks2f8

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2015 Fourth of July Tribute to Jack Donovan

Great story! Thanks!***

Do you see a link or does the clip come immediately hot?

Great story - video shows on the post.***

As a Marine Viet Nam veteran, I was always elated to....

Re: As a Marine Viet Nam veteran, I was always elated to....

Semper Fidelis brother

Backatcha Bro....the equipment changes, but the men in

RIP to a giant of an American

Very good read and video.........thanks!***

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