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JACKSON BUSIC CARTER was born on 11 June 1931 at Walter Reed General Hospital, Washington, DC. He came into the world yelling at the top of his lungs, full of life and enthusiasm which he never lost until his untimely death in the service of his country. Kindness, helpfulness, compassion, and serenity characterized his relationship with others. He loved life and people. He grew up with the Army. His father is Colonel (Retired) Willey V. Carter, USMA 1918; his mother is Muriel Dougherty, daughter of Colonel Andrew Jackson Dougherty, for whom he was named. Jack was born on his paternal great-grandfather Busic's birthday, an event noted by the choice of Jack's middle name.
Colonel and Mrs. Carter bought a home in Riverside where they remained after retiring from the Air Force. Riverside was a special place to Jack. It was here that Jack met his future wife, Joyce Garrett. It was a place to return to, where he could always find a warm welcome for himself and his friends. He looked forward to these visits with his parents and his favorite Grandmother Dougherty who added so much fun and warmth to the Riverside home.
Jack graduated from Riverside Poly High School in 1949. The following summer he obtained an appointment to West Point and joined the Class of 1954. As a cadet he was levelheaded, imperturbable, and self-confident. He took plebe year in stride and impressed his roommates with his poise. Nothing seemed to shake him or to catch him off guard. Having spent his whole life in the military, Jack was good at seeing the lighter side of the service. He encouraged confidence in others by example and made life a little more bearable by virtue of his great sense of humor and wit.
Boxing was his favorite sport. As a lightweight he often found himself involved in some rather rough action, but Jack was spunky and would never back down. He took a lot of ribbing about his boxing activities, to which he would just chuckle and with a snort turn it off. He was just as quick to give a ribbing as well as take one without becoming disturbed. He is remembered by his classmates for his dogged determination in the face of adversity, his certainty of purpose, his ability to reason to a logical conclusion, and his refusal to be encumbered with unimportant considerations. Jack applied himself to those things which he could change; he did not waste his energy on those thing which he could not, and he was able to distinguish one from the other. He was also a very perceptive person who understood the importance of getting along with people. Being well rounded in terms of interests and aptitudes, he was ideally suited for a career in the military.
On graduation day, 8 June 1954, he donned the uniform of a second lieutenant in the United States Air Force. He lost no time reporting to the Old Cadet Chapel where he married his high school sweetheart, Joyce Garrett. Following graduation leave, Jack and Joy went to Hondo, Texas, where Jack received his primary flight training. He loved flying. His instructor at Hondo described him as a natural born flyer and one of the best he had ever had the pleasure to teach. After primary, Jack went on to finish basic flight training at Greenville, Mississippi. His first assignment as a pilot was to the new Strategic Air Command base at Little Rock. Lacking a base hospital, Jack drove Joy to the base hospital at Greenville AFB in September 1955 where their first son, Jackson David Carter, was born.
Jack and I met for the first time when he joined the 546th Bomb Squadron in November 1955. We were assigned to the newly formed B-47 crew commanded by Roy W. Howard. In March 1956 the crew was sent to survival training at Stead AFB, Nevada. It was a cold, wet, and hungry experience. The graduation exercise consisted of a 24-hour cross-country infiltration course ending with the penetration of an enemy line of defense. Jack was unhurried, and I thought I would never reach our destination unless a fire could be built under him. Came night and as I began to tire, Jack shifted into second gear. By the time we hit the enemy line he shifted into high and attempted to lead me through the mesquite that he could see in the dark but which I only succeeded in plowing into. The enemy patrol which located me through the reflection of my wet poncho caught only a faint glimpse of Jack as he sped off into the night. This reservoir of energy and superb night vision which he demonstrated at survival school was to serve his crew in the years to come.
Jack's crew became combat ready in October 1956 and earned "lead" designation in April of the following year. Picked as one of two crews to represent the 384th Bomb Wing in the 1957 SAC Bombing and Navigation Competition, the crew was designated as a select crew with spot promotions going to the navigator and aircraft commander. Ineligible for a spot promotion as a co-pilot, he continued to develop his skills as both a pilot and navigator. It was a proud day when Jack stood with his crew to receive the top crew award in the 1957 SAC competition and was singled out as the outstanding co-pilot of the competition. His promotion to captain, less than three and a half years after graduation, was a remarkable and well-deserved achievement. He was the first to be promoted to captain in his class and the first to be award the Distinguished Flying Cross "for extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight during the period June 1957 to November 1957." He later added the Air Force Commendation Medal for similar but not quite so successful participation in the 1958 SAC Bombing Competition.
In July 1959 Jack left crew S-70 to train a B-47 crew of his own. SAC gained an extremely well-qualified aircraft commander, but the crew lost a co-pilot who was both an excellent pilot and navigator. He flew well from the rear seat and could obtain celestial fixes with only one minute between shots during which he would compute and plot the line of position as a check against the navigator's fix. He was an extremely dedicated and hard-working officer and a credit to the Air Force and those of us who knew and worked with him.
A second son, Daniel Garrett Carter, was born on 20 October 1960 at the Arkansas Baptist Hospital in Little Rock. In April 1962 Jack was transferred, along with his new crew, to Plattsburgh AFB, New York. With over nine years as a SAC pilot, he was selected for graduate school in industrial engineering at the University of Southern California. He entered the university in April 1964 and graduated two years later with a master's degree and election to the technical honor society Alpha Pi Mu and the American Society of Industrial Engineers. Jack and Joy lived in Riverside while Jack was attending USC. While in school, a daughter, Elaine Dorothy Carter, was born on 4 February 1966 at the March AFB hospital.
Following graduation Jack received C-130 stateside training and in April 1967 was assigned to the 345th Troop Carrier Squadron, C.C.K., Taichung, Taiwan. He was flying close support missions for the war in Vietnam when he was involved in a fatal ground accident on 4 March 1967. While returning to his quarters on base he was thrown from his motorcycle. Although he was wearing a protective helmet, Jack received severe head injuries. He died from these injuries on 15 March 1967.
Major Carter was buried with full military honors under the cover of an Air Force flyby at the Riverside Evergreen Cemetery on 21 March 1967. It was a fitting salute to an officer who had served his country so well.
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