John Paul Gauthier, Sr.

   Cause of his death was stroke.

   Another name for John was Jack.

  General Notes:

See father's record for various childhood residences.

  Notes on his death:

OBITUARY

JOHN P. GAUTHIER
July 13, 1921 to June 13, 2001

John Paul Gauthier was born on July 13, 1921 in St. Paul, Minnesota. Jack was a retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel who entered military service in April 1942 when he became an aviation cadet. Training at various stations in Texas, he graduated as an Army pilot in August 1943. He was further trained as a B-17 bomber pilot before being sent to England to fly with the 388th bomb group in England. He flew 30 combat missions, most as pilot of the crew leading large formations of group and division size. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal with 5 oak leaf clusters, and the European Theater medal with 5 battle stars. He also earned two Air Force commendation medals and other decorations of lesser rank. While under his command the 7167th Air Transport Squadron was awarded The Presidential Distinguished Unit Citation. He was a pilot, military and civilian for 52 years.

After WW II, he served on recruiting duty and then as a pilot on the Berlin Airlift. In the early 50's he was the commander of a basic military training squadron and later became the Director of Military Training, USAF Officer Candidate School, both at Lackland AFB. When the Air Force Academy was being established, he was selected for assignment there and became the commander of the New Cadet Training Group. That assignment was followed by a tour of duty in Germany as Commander of the Special Air Missions Squadron. Returning to the U.S., he became Inspector General, 2481st Reserve Group.

Retiring from the Air Force in 1965, Col. Gauthier operated a civilian flying school owned by the Champion Aircraft Co. and later became manager of their manufacturing plant at Osceola, Wisconsin. In 1966 he accepted an offer to become Chief Pilot for the Minnesota Department of Aeronautics. Transferring to the Public Safety Department, he then became Director of Emergency services for a thirteen county area.

Retiring from that position in 1978, he became a part-time employee of the Federal Management Agency working only when called in response to a presidential declared disaster. He continued to work in this capacity until 1992.

Jack and Billie came to Air Force Village II in August 1987 and he very much enjoyed living among friends with similar backgrounds and interests.

Jack passed away on June 13th 2001 in Minnesota where he and Billie had a summer place at the lake. In addition to Billie, he is survived by three sons, Ray, John Jr, and James, eight grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

In the words of the book written by Tom Brokaw, he was a vital part of "The Greatest Generation."

  Burial Notes:

Section CR, Site 18.

  In his life:

• John was counted in the 1930 US census for St. Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota. ⁴ ED 62-157, SD 8, Sheet 8A, ward 11, block 345.

• In 1930 he lived at 1567 Lincoln Avenue in St. Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota. ⁴

• In 1939 John lived at 957 Selby Ave. in St. Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota. ⁵

• He worked, in 1939, as a stockman for Raymer Hardware Co. in St. Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota. ⁶

• In 1941 John lived at 947 N. Oxford in St. Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota. ⁷

• He worked, in 1941, as an estimator for Raymer Hardware Co. in St. Paul, Ramsey, Minnesota. ⁸

• He served in the military as a pilot in the US Army Air Corps and US Air Force From 1942 to 1965. ^{9 10 11} Jack enlisted in the Aviation Cadet Program on 22 Apr 1942, reporting for duty on 26 Oct 1942. After service as a bomber pilot in the European Theater during World War II he was discharged on 26 Apr 1947. On 30 Apr 1947 he reenlisted as a Master Sergeant and was recalled to commissioned service on 28 Jan 1949. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel on 1 Jan 1965. See citation for more detail.

John married Wilhelmina Jane Balch, daughter of Raymond Edison Balch and Estelle Amelia Hennemuth, on 1 March 1941 in Iowa.¹ (Wilhelmina Jane Balch was born on 22 March 1923 in Wisconsin Rapids, Wood, Wisconsin ¹.)