Colonel Don J. Coffee, Jr. Air Force Combat Veteran and WWII Hero. Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Don J. Coffee, Jr., age 87, of Dunwoody, died July 31, 2009.
He was born on his grandfather's farm near Norcross, GA on November 20, 1921, a direct fifth generation descendant of Patrick Henry. He joined the Army Air Forces as a cadet on July 4, 1942. After pre-flight training, he was commissioned a 2nd Lt. and became a Lead Radar Navigator Bombardier with the 398th bomb group in the 8th Air Force flying B-17 aircraft.
He arrived in England shortly after D-Day and led many missions deep into Germany, three to Berlin. He led the last mission of WWII in Europe to destroy the world's largest ammunitions factory at Pilzen, Czechoslovakia on April 25, 1945. This mission was agreed upon between Prime Minister Churchill and President Roosevelt at Yalta because Stalin refused to let the Allies drop food supplies to the Polish underground in Warsaw who were starving. Although by this time Roosevelt was dead, Churchill insisted on the mission to keep it out of the hands of Russia. The Czechs were warned in advance over BBC. It has been referred to as the 1st strike in the Cold War. For this mission and other lead missions, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He also received the Medal of Freedom from the Czechoslovakian government on the 50th anniversary of the mission. Other awards include three Air medals and an Air Force Commendation Medal.
During his 25 year career in the Air Force he received a Presidential Citation from President Johnson for Fiscal Management of the B-58 and F-111 Bombers built by General Dynamics. While stationed at Stewart Air Force Base near West Point, he served as Officer in Charge of the Air Force Honor Guard at the dedication of the WWII Memorial at Battery Park in NYC by President John F. Kennedy on his last birthday in 1963. He was then reassigned to Dallas where he witnessed the President's motorcade just minutes before his assassination.
His interest in flying started at an early age when his father took him out to Candler Field (now Hartsfield-Jackson Inter- national) to witness Doug Davis perform stunt flying over what was then a racetrack. The aircraft was a red GB low wing monoplane. In 1936, he saw the 1st flight of a squadron of B-17 aircraft leave McDill AFB in Tampa, FL headed for South America. He took his first flight in a tri-motored Ford over Tampa Bay and the cost was 50 cents. Little did he know that within 8 years he would navigate a B-17 across the Atlantic. He also became a member of the Caterpillar Club when he survived an emergency parachute jump from 500 ft at night in a rainstorm over Hondo, TX. A graduate of the University of Georgia, he worked as a cost analyst for Ford Motor Company between WWII and the Korean War.
Recalled in 1951, he was assigned to active duty in Washington, DC, where he developed the 1st computer software program for reporting combat results for the Air Force. He was then assigned as Professor of Air Science and Tactics at Drake University in Des Moines, IA.
After retirement, he taught at Marist High School in Atlanta, then became Chief Accountant for the Bureau of Health Insurance for the southeast, retiring in 1984. An avid tennis and golf enthusiast, he won the Senior PACAF Air Force Tennis Championship in Tokyo, Japan in 1965 and hit two hole in ones after age 75.
His first wife Jane Sarah Walters Coffee predeceased him in 2002 after 57 years of marriage. And he lost his second wife Rose Wing Coffee in 2007. He is survived by his daughter Carolyn Patterson of Allen, Texas, and son in law William, who lovingly cared for him in their home and cherished every moment of the tremendous blessings he brought to the family.
He was blessed with twin granddaughters, Jennifer Spivey and Heidi Paredes (born on his birthday), Misty Phelps and great-grandchildren Garrett Spivey, Jonathan Paredes, Nicole Spivey, James Paredes, Ashley Paredes, and Michael Donisi. He is also survived by his son Don John Coffee and his children Jimmy Coffee, Cinnamon Steinhardt, Mary Coffee, Nathan Coffee; and great-grandson Logan Steinhardt. He is also survived by his sister Barbara Chatham.
Funeral Mass will be said Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 10:30a.m. at St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church. Msgr. Daniel O'Connor will serve as celebrant. Interment will follow at Arlington Memorial Park. Sandy Springs Chapel Funeral Directors, 136 Mt. Vernon Hwy, NE, Sandy Springs,GA 30328.
He was born on his grandfather's farm near Norcross, GA on November 20, 1921, a direct fifth generation descendant of Patrick Henry. He joined the Army Air Forces as a cadet on July 4, 1942. After pre-flight training, he was commissioned a 2nd Lt. and became a Lead Radar Navigator Bombardier with the 398th bomb group in the 8th Air Force flying B-17 aircraft.
He arrived in England shortly after D-Day and led many missions deep into Germany, three to Berlin. He led the last mission of WWII in Europe to destroy the world's largest ammunitions factory at Pilzen, Czechoslovakia on April 25, 1945. This mission was agreed upon between Prime Minister Churchill and President Roosevelt at Yalta because Stalin refused to let the Allies drop food supplies to the Polish underground in Warsaw who were starving. Although by this time Roosevelt was dead, Churchill insisted on the mission to keep it out of the hands of Russia. The Czechs were warned in advance over BBC. It has been referred to as the 1st strike in the Cold War. For this mission and other lead missions, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He also received the Medal of Freedom from the Czechoslovakian government on the 50th anniversary of the mission. Other awards include three Air medals and an Air Force Commendation Medal.
During his 25 year career in the Air Force he received a Presidential Citation from President Johnson for Fiscal Management of the B-58 and F-111 Bombers built by General Dynamics. While stationed at Stewart Air Force Base near West Point, he served as Officer in Charge of the Air Force Honor Guard at the dedication of the WWII Memorial at Battery Park in NYC by President John F. Kennedy on his last birthday in 1963. He was then reassigned to Dallas where he witnessed the President's motorcade just minutes before his assassination.
His interest in flying started at an early age when his father took him out to Candler Field (now Hartsfield-Jackson Inter- national) to witness Doug Davis perform stunt flying over what was then a racetrack. The aircraft was a red GB low wing monoplane. In 1936, he saw the 1st flight of a squadron of B-17 aircraft leave McDill AFB in Tampa, FL headed for South America. He took his first flight in a tri-motored Ford over Tampa Bay and the cost was 50 cents. Little did he know that within 8 years he would navigate a B-17 across the Atlantic. He also became a member of the Caterpillar Club when he survived an emergency parachute jump from 500 ft at night in a rainstorm over Hondo, TX. A graduate of the University of Georgia, he worked as a cost analyst for Ford Motor Company between WWII and the Korean War.
Recalled in 1951, he was assigned to active duty in Washington, DC, where he developed the 1st computer software program for reporting combat results for the Air Force. He was then assigned as Professor of Air Science and Tactics at Drake University in Des Moines, IA.
After retirement, he taught at Marist High School in Atlanta, then became Chief Accountant for the Bureau of Health Insurance for the southeast, retiring in 1984. An avid tennis and golf enthusiast, he won the Senior PACAF Air Force Tennis Championship in Tokyo, Japan in 1965 and hit two hole in ones after age 75.
His first wife Jane Sarah Walters Coffee predeceased him in 2002 after 57 years of marriage. And he lost his second wife Rose Wing Coffee in 2007. He is survived by his daughter Carolyn Patterson of Allen, Texas, and son in law William, who lovingly cared for him in their home and cherished every moment of the tremendous blessings he brought to the family.
He was blessed with twin granddaughters, Jennifer Spivey and Heidi Paredes (born on his birthday), Misty Phelps and great-grandchildren Garrett Spivey, Jonathan Paredes, Nicole Spivey, James Paredes, Ashley Paredes, and Michael Donisi. He is also survived by his son Don John Coffee and his children Jimmy Coffee, Cinnamon Steinhardt, Mary Coffee, Nathan Coffee; and great-grandson Logan Steinhardt. He is also survived by his sister Barbara Chatham.
Funeral Mass will be said Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 10:30a.m. at St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church. Msgr. Daniel O'Connor will serve as celebrant. Interment will follow at Arlington Memorial Park. Sandy Springs Chapel Funeral Directors, 136 Mt. Vernon Hwy, NE, Sandy Springs,GA 30328.
Colonel Don J. Coffee, Jr. Air Force Combat Veteran and WWII Hero. Retired Air Force Lt. Col. Don J. Coffee, Jr., age 87, of Dunwoody, died July 31, 2009.
He was born on his grandfather's farm near Norcross, GA on November 20, 1921, a direct fifth generation descendant of Patrick Henry. He joined the Army Air Forces as a cadet on July 4, 1942. After pre-flight training, he was commissioned a 2nd Lt. and became a Lead Radar Navigator Bombardier with the 398th bomb group in the 8th Air Force flying B-17 aircraft.
He arrived in England shortly after D-Day and led many missions deep into Germany, three to Berlin. He led the last mission of WWII in Europe to destroy the world's largest ammunitions factory at Pilzen, Czechoslovakia on April 25, 1945. This mission was agreed upon between Prime Minister Churchill and President Roosevelt at Yalta because Stalin refused to let the Allies drop food supplies to the Polish underground in Warsaw who were starving. Although by this time Roosevelt was dead, Churchill insisted on the mission to keep it out of the hands of Russia. The Czechs were warned in advance over BBC. It has been referred to as the 1st strike in the Cold War. For this mission and other lead missions, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He also received the Medal of Freedom from the Czechoslovakian government on the 50th anniversary of the mission. Other awards include three Air medals and an Air Force Commendation Medal.
During his 25 year career in the Air Force he received a Presidential Citation from President Johnson for Fiscal Management of the B-58 and F-111 Bombers built by General Dynamics. While stationed at Stewart Air Force Base near West Point, he served as Officer in Charge of the Air Force Honor Guard at the dedication of the WWII Memorial at Battery Park in NYC by President John F. Kennedy on his last birthday in 1963. He was then reassigned to Dallas where he witnessed the President's motorcade just minutes before his assassination.
His interest in flying started at an early age when his father took him out to Candler Field (now Hartsfield-Jackson Inter- national) to witness Doug Davis perform stunt flying over what was then a racetrack. The aircraft was a red GB low wing monoplane. In 1936, he saw the 1st flight of a squadron of B-17 aircraft leave McDill AFB in Tampa, FL headed for South America. He took his first flight in a tri-motored Ford over Tampa Bay and the cost was 50 cents. Little did he know that within 8 years he would navigate a B-17 across the Atlantic. He also became a member of the Caterpillar Club when he survived an emergency parachute jump from 500 ft at night in a rainstorm over Hondo, TX. A graduate of the University of Georgia, he worked as a cost analyst for Ford Motor Company between WWII and the Korean War.
Recalled in 1951, he was assigned to active duty in Washington, DC, where he developed the 1st computer software program for reporting combat results for the Air Force. He was then assigned as Professor of Air Science and Tactics at Drake University in Des Moines, IA.
After retirement, he taught at Marist High School in Atlanta, then became Chief Accountant for the Bureau of Health Insurance for the southeast, retiring in 1984. An avid tennis and golf enthusiast, he won the Senior PACAF Air Force Tennis Championship in Tokyo, Japan in 1965 and hit two hole in ones after age 75.
His first wife Jane Sarah Walters Coffee predeceased him in 2002 after 57 years of marriage. And he lost his second wife Rose Wing Coffee in 2007. He is survived by his daughter Carolyn Patterson of Allen, Texas, and son in law William, who lovingly cared for him in their home and cherished every moment of the tremendous blessings he brought to the family.
He was blessed with twin granddaughters, Jennifer Spivey and Heidi Paredes (born on his birthday), Misty Phelps and great-grandchildren Garrett Spivey, Jonathan Paredes, Nicole Spivey, James Paredes, Ashley Paredes, and Michael Donisi. He is also survived by his son Don John Coffee and his children Jimmy Coffee, Cinnamon Steinhardt, Mary Coffee, Nathan Coffee; and great-grandson Logan Steinhardt. He is also survived by his sister Barbara Chatham.
Funeral Mass will be said Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 10:30a.m. at St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church. Msgr. Daniel O'Connor will serve as celebrant. Interment will follow at Arlington Memorial Park. Sandy Springs Chapel Funeral Directors, 136 Mt. Vernon Hwy, NE, Sandy Springs,GA 30328.
He was born on his grandfather's farm near Norcross, GA on November 20, 1921, a direct fifth generation descendant of Patrick Henry. He joined the Army Air Forces as a cadet on July 4, 1942. After pre-flight training, he was commissioned a 2nd Lt. and became a Lead Radar Navigator Bombardier with the 398th bomb group in the 8th Air Force flying B-17 aircraft.
He arrived in England shortly after D-Day and led many missions deep into Germany, three to Berlin. He led the last mission of WWII in Europe to destroy the world's largest ammunitions factory at Pilzen, Czechoslovakia on April 25, 1945. This mission was agreed upon between Prime Minister Churchill and President Roosevelt at Yalta because Stalin refused to let the Allies drop food supplies to the Polish underground in Warsaw who were starving. Although by this time Roosevelt was dead, Churchill insisted on the mission to keep it out of the hands of Russia. The Czechs were warned in advance over BBC. It has been referred to as the 1st strike in the Cold War. For this mission and other lead missions, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He also received the Medal of Freedom from the Czechoslovakian government on the 50th anniversary of the mission. Other awards include three Air medals and an Air Force Commendation Medal.
During his 25 year career in the Air Force he received a Presidential Citation from President Johnson for Fiscal Management of the B-58 and F-111 Bombers built by General Dynamics. While stationed at Stewart Air Force Base near West Point, he served as Officer in Charge of the Air Force Honor Guard at the dedication of the WWII Memorial at Battery Park in NYC by President John F. Kennedy on his last birthday in 1963. He was then reassigned to Dallas where he witnessed the President's motorcade just minutes before his assassination.
His interest in flying started at an early age when his father took him out to Candler Field (now Hartsfield-Jackson Inter- national) to witness Doug Davis perform stunt flying over what was then a racetrack. The aircraft was a red GB low wing monoplane. In 1936, he saw the 1st flight of a squadron of B-17 aircraft leave McDill AFB in Tampa, FL headed for South America. He took his first flight in a tri-motored Ford over Tampa Bay and the cost was 50 cents. Little did he know that within 8 years he would navigate a B-17 across the Atlantic. He also became a member of the Caterpillar Club when he survived an emergency parachute jump from 500 ft at night in a rainstorm over Hondo, TX. A graduate of the University of Georgia, he worked as a cost analyst for Ford Motor Company between WWII and the Korean War.
Recalled in 1951, he was assigned to active duty in Washington, DC, where he developed the 1st computer software program for reporting combat results for the Air Force. He was then assigned as Professor of Air Science and Tactics at Drake University in Des Moines, IA.
After retirement, he taught at Marist High School in Atlanta, then became Chief Accountant for the Bureau of Health Insurance for the southeast, retiring in 1984. An avid tennis and golf enthusiast, he won the Senior PACAF Air Force Tennis Championship in Tokyo, Japan in 1965 and hit two hole in ones after age 75.
His first wife Jane Sarah Walters Coffee predeceased him in 2002 after 57 years of marriage. And he lost his second wife Rose Wing Coffee in 2007. He is survived by his daughter Carolyn Patterson of Allen, Texas, and son in law William, who lovingly cared for him in their home and cherished every moment of the tremendous blessings he brought to the family.
He was blessed with twin granddaughters, Jennifer Spivey and Heidi Paredes (born on his birthday), Misty Phelps and great-grandchildren Garrett Spivey, Jonathan Paredes, Nicole Spivey, James Paredes, Ashley Paredes, and Michael Donisi. He is also survived by his son Don John Coffee and his children Jimmy Coffee, Cinnamon Steinhardt, Mary Coffee, Nathan Coffee; and great-grandson Logan Steinhardt. He is also survived by his sister Barbara Chatham.
Funeral Mass will be said Wednesday, August 5, 2009 at 10:30a.m. at St. Jude the Apostle Catholic Church. Msgr. Daniel O'Connor will serve as celebrant. Interment will follow at Arlington Memorial Park. Sandy Springs Chapel Funeral Directors, 136 Mt. Vernon Hwy, NE, Sandy Springs,GA 30328.
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