CAPT US NAVY
WORLD WAR II, KOREA, VIETNAM
Pioneer Navy aviator remembered in San Clemente
Local resident Ed Iglesias' career ranged from flying Navy Hellcat fighter planes over Iwo Jima and Okinawa in World War II to recovering stolen planes in Latin America for insurance companies as a civilian in the 1970s and '80s. Iglesias, a member of the Golden Eagles, died Sunday at age 91.
U.S. naval aviation lost one of its pioneers with the death Sunday of Ed Iglesias of San Clemente.
Iglesias, 91, served in the Navy from 1941 to 1969 and flew more than 50 World War II missions in Hellcat fighter planes over the Pacific. He shot down four Japanese planes in dogfights and destroyed a dozen others on the ground, targeting fiercely defended islands such as Iwo Jima and Okinawa. His plane was hit once, he said in a 2004 interview. "I was one of the lucky ones."
Article Tab: Ed Iglesias is pictured in 2004 at home in San Clemente with a portrait of himself in his Navy uniform. The hat he's wearing is from when he was the commanding officer of Fighter Squadron 103 during World War II.
He flew missions over Japan to drop supplies to U.S. prisoners of war, and he and his Navy shipmates survived kamikaze attacks at sea. On the day the Japanese formally surrendered aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Iglesias was among hundreds of U.S. pilots ceremonially flying overhead.
Iglesias later served as a flight instructor and flew missions over Korea. As a Navy test pilot, he flew at twice the speed of sound. He also commanded a squadron in the Mediterranean and, during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, flew secret missions in Crusader jets between Cuba and Key West, Fla. He also skippered a Navy logistics ship, the USS Pictor, off Vietnam during the war there.
In 2004, Iglesias was inducted into the Early and Pioneer Naval Aviators Association, better known as the Golden Eagles – a group including famed astronauts John Glenn and Neil Armstrong.
Iglesias' Puerto Rican roots were a source of pride and U.S. patriotism for him. He was one of 11 children of Santiago Iglesias, who was considered a hero in Puerto Rico as father of the labor movement there. Ed Iglesias grew up in Washington, D.C., while his father served as Puerto Rico's resident commissioner in the House of Representatives.
Iglesias liked to describe how his father was a great admirer of the United States, as evidenced by his naming his eight daughters Liberty, America, Justice, Victory, Fraternity, Equality, Peace and Light. After the elder Iglesias' death in 1939, the U.S. government named a World War II ship the Santiago Iglesias.
Ed Iglesias said he was inspired to become a flier in 1928 when, at age 7, he watched American aviation hero Charles Lindbergh fly over San Juan, Puerto Rico, as part of a goodwill tour following Lindbergh's historic solo flight from New York to Paris.
After retiring from the Navy in 1969, Iglesias went to work as an investigator for insurance companies, flying small Cessna planes into Latin America. He often landed on remote dirt airstrips to recover stolen aircraft. He brought back not just the recovered planes but also tales of drug running and sketchy encounters with local police commanders and criminal elements.
He continued that vocation for a decade after he and his wife, Nancy, and their children moved to San Clemente in 1978. He retired in 1986.
He is survived by Nancy; sons George and Timothy Iglesias and Andrew Johnson; daughters Anne Feldman, Patricia McDonnell, Kay Field, Kimberly Gonzales and Juliet Chase; and extended relatives.
"As we knew he would, Ed held onto life until his final takeoff to meet his Heavenly Father," Nancy Iglesias wrote in a brief homage this week. "All who knew him loved and respected him."
She described her husband as a "pretty humble guy."
"Per his wishes," she said, "his interment will be private."
Contact the writer: [email protected] or 949-492-5127
WORLD WAR II, KOREA, VIETNAM
Pioneer Navy aviator remembered in San Clemente
Local resident Ed Iglesias' career ranged from flying Navy Hellcat fighter planes over Iwo Jima and Okinawa in World War II to recovering stolen planes in Latin America for insurance companies as a civilian in the 1970s and '80s. Iglesias, a member of the Golden Eagles, died Sunday at age 91.
U.S. naval aviation lost one of its pioneers with the death Sunday of Ed Iglesias of San Clemente.
Iglesias, 91, served in the Navy from 1941 to 1969 and flew more than 50 World War II missions in Hellcat fighter planes over the Pacific. He shot down four Japanese planes in dogfights and destroyed a dozen others on the ground, targeting fiercely defended islands such as Iwo Jima and Okinawa. His plane was hit once, he said in a 2004 interview. "I was one of the lucky ones."
Article Tab: Ed Iglesias is pictured in 2004 at home in San Clemente with a portrait of himself in his Navy uniform. The hat he's wearing is from when he was the commanding officer of Fighter Squadron 103 during World War II.
He flew missions over Japan to drop supplies to U.S. prisoners of war, and he and his Navy shipmates survived kamikaze attacks at sea. On the day the Japanese formally surrendered aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Iglesias was among hundreds of U.S. pilots ceremonially flying overhead.
Iglesias later served as a flight instructor and flew missions over Korea. As a Navy test pilot, he flew at twice the speed of sound. He also commanded a squadron in the Mediterranean and, during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, flew secret missions in Crusader jets between Cuba and Key West, Fla. He also skippered a Navy logistics ship, the USS Pictor, off Vietnam during the war there.
In 2004, Iglesias was inducted into the Early and Pioneer Naval Aviators Association, better known as the Golden Eagles – a group including famed astronauts John Glenn and Neil Armstrong.
Iglesias' Puerto Rican roots were a source of pride and U.S. patriotism for him. He was one of 11 children of Santiago Iglesias, who was considered a hero in Puerto Rico as father of the labor movement there. Ed Iglesias grew up in Washington, D.C., while his father served as Puerto Rico's resident commissioner in the House of Representatives.
Iglesias liked to describe how his father was a great admirer of the United States, as evidenced by his naming his eight daughters Liberty, America, Justice, Victory, Fraternity, Equality, Peace and Light. After the elder Iglesias' death in 1939, the U.S. government named a World War II ship the Santiago Iglesias.
Ed Iglesias said he was inspired to become a flier in 1928 when, at age 7, he watched American aviation hero Charles Lindbergh fly over San Juan, Puerto Rico, as part of a goodwill tour following Lindbergh's historic solo flight from New York to Paris.
After retiring from the Navy in 1969, Iglesias went to work as an investigator for insurance companies, flying small Cessna planes into Latin America. He often landed on remote dirt airstrips to recover stolen aircraft. He brought back not just the recovered planes but also tales of drug running and sketchy encounters with local police commanders and criminal elements.
He continued that vocation for a decade after he and his wife, Nancy, and their children moved to San Clemente in 1978. He retired in 1986.
He is survived by Nancy; sons George and Timothy Iglesias and Andrew Johnson; daughters Anne Feldman, Patricia McDonnell, Kay Field, Kimberly Gonzales and Juliet Chase; and extended relatives.
"As we knew he would, Ed held onto life until his final takeoff to meet his Heavenly Father," Nancy Iglesias wrote in a brief homage this week. "All who knew him loved and respected him."
She described her husband as a "pretty humble guy."
"Per his wishes," she said, "his interment will be private."
Contact the writer: [email protected] or 949-492-5127
CAPT US NAVY
WORLD WAR II, KOREA, VIETNAM
Pioneer Navy aviator remembered in San Clemente
Local resident Ed Iglesias' career ranged from flying Navy Hellcat fighter planes over Iwo Jima and Okinawa in World War II to recovering stolen planes in Latin America for insurance companies as a civilian in the 1970s and '80s. Iglesias, a member of the Golden Eagles, died Sunday at age 91.
U.S. naval aviation lost one of its pioneers with the death Sunday of Ed Iglesias of San Clemente.
Iglesias, 91, served in the Navy from 1941 to 1969 and flew more than 50 World War II missions in Hellcat fighter planes over the Pacific. He shot down four Japanese planes in dogfights and destroyed a dozen others on the ground, targeting fiercely defended islands such as Iwo Jima and Okinawa. His plane was hit once, he said in a 2004 interview. "I was one of the lucky ones."
Article Tab: Ed Iglesias is pictured in 2004 at home in San Clemente with a portrait of himself in his Navy uniform. The hat he's wearing is from when he was the commanding officer of Fighter Squadron 103 during World War II.
He flew missions over Japan to drop supplies to U.S. prisoners of war, and he and his Navy shipmates survived kamikaze attacks at sea. On the day the Japanese formally surrendered aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Iglesias was among hundreds of U.S. pilots ceremonially flying overhead.
Iglesias later served as a flight instructor and flew missions over Korea. As a Navy test pilot, he flew at twice the speed of sound. He also commanded a squadron in the Mediterranean and, during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, flew secret missions in Crusader jets between Cuba and Key West, Fla. He also skippered a Navy logistics ship, the USS Pictor, off Vietnam during the war there.
In 2004, Iglesias was inducted into the Early and Pioneer Naval Aviators Association, better known as the Golden Eagles – a group including famed astronauts John Glenn and Neil Armstrong.
Iglesias' Puerto Rican roots were a source of pride and U.S. patriotism for him. He was one of 11 children of Santiago Iglesias, who was considered a hero in Puerto Rico as father of the labor movement there. Ed Iglesias grew up in Washington, D.C., while his father served as Puerto Rico's resident commissioner in the House of Representatives.
Iglesias liked to describe how his father was a great admirer of the United States, as evidenced by his naming his eight daughters Liberty, America, Justice, Victory, Fraternity, Equality, Peace and Light. After the elder Iglesias' death in 1939, the U.S. government named a World War II ship the Santiago Iglesias.
Ed Iglesias said he was inspired to become a flier in 1928 when, at age 7, he watched American aviation hero Charles Lindbergh fly over San Juan, Puerto Rico, as part of a goodwill tour following Lindbergh's historic solo flight from New York to Paris.
After retiring from the Navy in 1969, Iglesias went to work as an investigator for insurance companies, flying small Cessna planes into Latin America. He often landed on remote dirt airstrips to recover stolen aircraft. He brought back not just the recovered planes but also tales of drug running and sketchy encounters with local police commanders and criminal elements.
He continued that vocation for a decade after he and his wife, Nancy, and their children moved to San Clemente in 1978. He retired in 1986.
He is survived by Nancy; sons George and Timothy Iglesias and Andrew Johnson; daughters Anne Feldman, Patricia McDonnell, Kay Field, Kimberly Gonzales and Juliet Chase; and extended relatives.
"As we knew he would, Ed held onto life until his final takeoff to meet his Heavenly Father," Nancy Iglesias wrote in a brief homage this week. "All who knew him loved and respected him."
She described her husband as a "pretty humble guy."
"Per his wishes," she said, "his interment will be private."
Contact the writer: [email protected] or 949-492-5127
WORLD WAR II, KOREA, VIETNAM
Pioneer Navy aviator remembered in San Clemente
Local resident Ed Iglesias' career ranged from flying Navy Hellcat fighter planes over Iwo Jima and Okinawa in World War II to recovering stolen planes in Latin America for insurance companies as a civilian in the 1970s and '80s. Iglesias, a member of the Golden Eagles, died Sunday at age 91.
U.S. naval aviation lost one of its pioneers with the death Sunday of Ed Iglesias of San Clemente.
Iglesias, 91, served in the Navy from 1941 to 1969 and flew more than 50 World War II missions in Hellcat fighter planes over the Pacific. He shot down four Japanese planes in dogfights and destroyed a dozen others on the ground, targeting fiercely defended islands such as Iwo Jima and Okinawa. His plane was hit once, he said in a 2004 interview. "I was one of the lucky ones."
Article Tab: Ed Iglesias is pictured in 2004 at home in San Clemente with a portrait of himself in his Navy uniform. The hat he's wearing is from when he was the commanding officer of Fighter Squadron 103 during World War II.
He flew missions over Japan to drop supplies to U.S. prisoners of war, and he and his Navy shipmates survived kamikaze attacks at sea. On the day the Japanese formally surrendered aboard the USS Missouri in Tokyo Bay, Iglesias was among hundreds of U.S. pilots ceremonially flying overhead.
Iglesias later served as a flight instructor and flew missions over Korea. As a Navy test pilot, he flew at twice the speed of sound. He also commanded a squadron in the Mediterranean and, during the 1962 Cuban missile crisis, flew secret missions in Crusader jets between Cuba and Key West, Fla. He also skippered a Navy logistics ship, the USS Pictor, off Vietnam during the war there.
In 2004, Iglesias was inducted into the Early and Pioneer Naval Aviators Association, better known as the Golden Eagles – a group including famed astronauts John Glenn and Neil Armstrong.
Iglesias' Puerto Rican roots were a source of pride and U.S. patriotism for him. He was one of 11 children of Santiago Iglesias, who was considered a hero in Puerto Rico as father of the labor movement there. Ed Iglesias grew up in Washington, D.C., while his father served as Puerto Rico's resident commissioner in the House of Representatives.
Iglesias liked to describe how his father was a great admirer of the United States, as evidenced by his naming his eight daughters Liberty, America, Justice, Victory, Fraternity, Equality, Peace and Light. After the elder Iglesias' death in 1939, the U.S. government named a World War II ship the Santiago Iglesias.
Ed Iglesias said he was inspired to become a flier in 1928 when, at age 7, he watched American aviation hero Charles Lindbergh fly over San Juan, Puerto Rico, as part of a goodwill tour following Lindbergh's historic solo flight from New York to Paris.
After retiring from the Navy in 1969, Iglesias went to work as an investigator for insurance companies, flying small Cessna planes into Latin America. He often landed on remote dirt airstrips to recover stolen aircraft. He brought back not just the recovered planes but also tales of drug running and sketchy encounters with local police commanders and criminal elements.
He continued that vocation for a decade after he and his wife, Nancy, and their children moved to San Clemente in 1978. He retired in 1986.
He is survived by Nancy; sons George and Timothy Iglesias and Andrew Johnson; daughters Anne Feldman, Patricia McDonnell, Kay Field, Kimberly Gonzales and Juliet Chase; and extended relatives.
"As we knew he would, Ed held onto life until his final takeoff to meet his Heavenly Father," Nancy Iglesias wrote in a brief homage this week. "All who knew him loved and respected him."
She described her husband as a "pretty humble guy."
"Per his wishes," she said, "his interment will be private."
Contact the writer: [email protected] or 949-492-5127
Gravesite Details
Obituary shared by Jack Williams (#46856865)
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