Jack Morrison Goss, of Forest Hill, Md., who was a flight engineer for Air Force One for several administrations, died March 18, 2007. He was the only child of Frederick and Madeline Goss of Bar Harbor. An avid sports fan and participant, since boyhood at one time he thought he would like to be a coach. He also loved to dance, and played the drums in his youth. His first love, however, was airplanes. This love was fostered by his father, a biplane pilot during World War I. He would often take young Jack to the airport to watch the planes take off and land.
Mr. Goss attended the University of Maryland until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor took his life in a new direction. He joined the Army Air Corps and was sent to England to be a gunner/bombardier on a B-17. On his first mission, July 4, 1943, the plane was shot down, causing Mr. Goss and the other crew members to parachute into German territory. All of the crew were captured except the pilot, who wrote about his experience in the book, Escape Through the Pyrenees." Mr. Goss was a POW for nearly two years; the majority of that time was spent in Stalag 17-B in Austria. After the war, he returned to Bar Harbor and married his fiancée, Frances Bannon Goss, on July 17, 1945. He continued his service in the Air Force and served as a flight engineer on a B-29 during the Korean War. On one mission, his plane was hit, and a fire severely burned his hands and face. Though in shock, he helped land the plane using only his forearms. He spent nearly two years in a burn unit and underwent 14 skin graft operations to repair his burned face. Mr. Goss continued his service in the Air Force, and in 1959 was among the first group of men to be awarded the newly established rank of chief master sergeant. He was then assigned to the crew of Air Force One. He remained on that assignment as flight engineer for the terms of presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson. During that time he flew dignitaries from the United States and foreign nations around the world. Mr. Goss was the recipient of two Purple Heart medals, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and numerous medals of merit from the Air Force.
After retiring from the Air Force, Mr. Goss went to work as a supervisor for the Hecht Company in Laurel, Md.
He is survived by his wife, Frances; a daughter, Jacqueline Leach of Bel Air; and two sons, Frederick and Stephen Gross of Los Angeles, Calif. He is also survived by his two grandsons and one great-grandson.
His remains will be interred with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.
Mr. Goss attended the University of Maryland until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor took his life in a new direction. He joined the Army Air Corps and was sent to England to be a gunner/bombardier on a B-17. On his first mission, July 4, 1943, the plane was shot down, causing Mr. Goss and the other crew members to parachute into German territory. All of the crew were captured except the pilot, who wrote about his experience in the book, Escape Through the Pyrenees." Mr. Goss was a POW for nearly two years; the majority of that time was spent in Stalag 17-B in Austria. After the war, he returned to Bar Harbor and married his fiancée, Frances Bannon Goss, on July 17, 1945. He continued his service in the Air Force and served as a flight engineer on a B-29 during the Korean War. On one mission, his plane was hit, and a fire severely burned his hands and face. Though in shock, he helped land the plane using only his forearms. He spent nearly two years in a burn unit and underwent 14 skin graft operations to repair his burned face. Mr. Goss continued his service in the Air Force, and in 1959 was among the first group of men to be awarded the newly established rank of chief master sergeant. He was then assigned to the crew of Air Force One. He remained on that assignment as flight engineer for the terms of presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson. During that time he flew dignitaries from the United States and foreign nations around the world. Mr. Goss was the recipient of two Purple Heart medals, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and numerous medals of merit from the Air Force.
After retiring from the Air Force, Mr. Goss went to work as a supervisor for the Hecht Company in Laurel, Md.
He is survived by his wife, Frances; a daughter, Jacqueline Leach of Bel Air; and two sons, Frederick and Stephen Gross of Los Angeles, Calif. He is also survived by his two grandsons and one great-grandson.
His remains will be interred with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.
Jack Morrison Goss, of Forest Hill, Md., who was a flight engineer for Air Force One for several administrations, died March 18, 2007. He was the only child of Frederick and Madeline Goss of Bar Harbor. An avid sports fan and participant, since boyhood at one time he thought he would like to be a coach. He also loved to dance, and played the drums in his youth. His first love, however, was airplanes. This love was fostered by his father, a biplane pilot during World War I. He would often take young Jack to the airport to watch the planes take off and land.
Mr. Goss attended the University of Maryland until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor took his life in a new direction. He joined the Army Air Corps and was sent to England to be a gunner/bombardier on a B-17. On his first mission, July 4, 1943, the plane was shot down, causing Mr. Goss and the other crew members to parachute into German territory. All of the crew were captured except the pilot, who wrote about his experience in the book, Escape Through the Pyrenees." Mr. Goss was a POW for nearly two years; the majority of that time was spent in Stalag 17-B in Austria. After the war, he returned to Bar Harbor and married his fiancée, Frances Bannon Goss, on July 17, 1945. He continued his service in the Air Force and served as a flight engineer on a B-29 during the Korean War. On one mission, his plane was hit, and a fire severely burned his hands and face. Though in shock, he helped land the plane using only his forearms. He spent nearly two years in a burn unit and underwent 14 skin graft operations to repair his burned face. Mr. Goss continued his service in the Air Force, and in 1959 was among the first group of men to be awarded the newly established rank of chief master sergeant. He was then assigned to the crew of Air Force One. He remained on that assignment as flight engineer for the terms of presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson. During that time he flew dignitaries from the United States and foreign nations around the world. Mr. Goss was the recipient of two Purple Heart medals, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and numerous medals of merit from the Air Force.
After retiring from the Air Force, Mr. Goss went to work as a supervisor for the Hecht Company in Laurel, Md.
He is survived by his wife, Frances; a daughter, Jacqueline Leach of Bel Air; and two sons, Frederick and Stephen Gross of Los Angeles, Calif. He is also survived by his two grandsons and one great-grandson.
His remains will be interred with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.
Mr. Goss attended the University of Maryland until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor took his life in a new direction. He joined the Army Air Corps and was sent to England to be a gunner/bombardier on a B-17. On his first mission, July 4, 1943, the plane was shot down, causing Mr. Goss and the other crew members to parachute into German territory. All of the crew were captured except the pilot, who wrote about his experience in the book, Escape Through the Pyrenees." Mr. Goss was a POW for nearly two years; the majority of that time was spent in Stalag 17-B in Austria. After the war, he returned to Bar Harbor and married his fiancée, Frances Bannon Goss, on July 17, 1945. He continued his service in the Air Force and served as a flight engineer on a B-29 during the Korean War. On one mission, his plane was hit, and a fire severely burned his hands and face. Though in shock, he helped land the plane using only his forearms. He spent nearly two years in a burn unit and underwent 14 skin graft operations to repair his burned face. Mr. Goss continued his service in the Air Force, and in 1959 was among the first group of men to be awarded the newly established rank of chief master sergeant. He was then assigned to the crew of Air Force One. He remained on that assignment as flight engineer for the terms of presidents Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson. During that time he flew dignitaries from the United States and foreign nations around the world. Mr. Goss was the recipient of two Purple Heart medals, the Distinguished Flying Cross, and numerous medals of merit from the Air Force.
After retiring from the Air Force, Mr. Goss went to work as a supervisor for the Hecht Company in Laurel, Md.
He is survived by his wife, Frances; a daughter, Jacqueline Leach of Bel Air; and two sons, Frederick and Stephen Gross of Los Angeles, Calif. He is also survived by his two grandsons and one great-grandson.
His remains will be interred with full military honors in Arlington National Cemetery.
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