An Amazing Life by Anthony Louis Maddux

Jesse Louis Maddux was born September 25, 1924 in Qulin, Missouri to Ernest and Maudie Maddux. He was the second born of eight children and the oldest boy. His sisters were Flossie, Pansy (Pat), Claudi, Almira and Carol. His brothers were Norman and Mark. He was raised in this large family in the rural country of southeastern Missouri on a farm. He also spent a much of his youth in Poplar Bluff, which he considered his hometown. From early childhood, life was full of long days, hard work, lots of responsibility and a strong commitment to his family. These challenging times and their positive effect on him, is what made him into the man we all knew. He shared many stories about life during the Depression years. There was very little money, but there was always food on the table and their home was full of love, hope and faith. He later became the man, husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather we loved because of the positive role models his mom and dad provided to him. Those depression years and the lack of money is also what drove him to be so financially conscious. He was without a doubt a very generous man, he would help a friend or family member in need any way he could, yet he didn’t want to spend a penny on himself.

As the years went by the depression continued, he finally went to high school where he became quite the star playing basketball. However, during his junior year, the United States entered World War II and his fate had been cast. A couple months before graduation, he and his entire senior class of boys were drafted into the Army. He was like so many of the young men of his time, ready and willing to defend America by going to the far side of the earth in harm’s way.

Days after graduating high school, he went into the military. Although he was drafted into the Army, he was accepted in the Army Air Corp. After receiving training, he was assigned to the 19^th Bomb Squadron (Heavy), flying B-24 Liberator bombers. He flew countless missions off remote locations in the Pacific risking his life each day during the war. In 1950, he was stationed in Japan, flying C-119 Flying Boxcars. One of their missions was to fly these planes to Clark AB in the Philippines, have the planes converted to French markings, then the aircrews wore plain jump suits without any US markings. Then they would fly into French Indochina, which now is called Vietnam, to deliver the airplanes to the French. He was flying into Vietnam 10 years before the Vietnam War.

It was during this time, he became friends with Shingi Kawabata, a local man who owned a store just outside the air base in Wakkani. One day, these new flying machines called helicopters began arriving at the base. A large crowd of Japanese gathered outside the base to watch these helicopters land when he first saw this really “tall” young lady in the crowd. He didn’t have a chance to talk to her and only saw her for a moment. Later at his friend’s store, he saw this young lady again and asked Shingi about her. He said, that is my youngest sister Chicako. He asked if he could take her out on a date. Shingi thought he was joking and said “okay” not realizing he was serious. Later when Chicako was told, she didn’t want to date this young American, but Shingi was the patriarch of the family and since he had already promised, she would honor his word. This was the start of a 63 year romance between Joyce and Jesse.

After getting married, the Korean War broke out and off he flew into harm’s way into another war. He flew a variety of airplanes in and out of country delivering troops and supplies. In 1951, his only son, Anthony Louis Maddux was born in Tokyo, Japan. In 1954 he received orders to Hawaii. He flew the C-54 Skymaster for the Air Rescue Service whose motto was “so others may live”. He flew all over the Pacific Ocean assisting ships and airplanes in trouble and even supported the US nuclear explosion tests in the Bikini Islands. In 1959 he received orders to McClellan AFB. He flew the EC-121, Super Connie up and down the west coast as an early warning mission for several years during the Cold War. One of the missions he flew was assisting in the capture of early US space capsules returning from space over the Pacific Ocean in mid-air. In 1961, he was assigned to Tinker AFB Midwest City Oklahoma where he received FAA training. After about 7 months, he was reassigned to a B-52 wing in Westover AFB, Springfield MA where he was involved in the Cuban Missile crisis. In 1962 he received orders back to McClellan, so within a two year period, he moved his family across the US three times. In 1964, he got orders to Wheelus AB Libya. He flew the C-97 Stratocaster, HU-16 Albatross sea plane and the C-130 Hercules for the Air Rescue Service.

He flew missions over Europe, the Middle East, Africa and the Mediterranean Sea helping ships and airplanes in distress. He also flew missions that supported most of the Mercury space missions, all of the Gemini missions and the first half of the Apollo missions. In late 1967, he received his final orders to Otis AFB MA. Again flying the EC-121, he flew up and down the eastern seaboard of the US. He retired in 1969 with 26 years of faithful devoted service. When asked what he liked most about flying, he replied, ”when I stand there next to an airplane in the early morning hours and see those blue lights on the runway, I know I am going to fly and many times to someplace I have never been”. He had a remarkable career in the Air Force which placed him in harm’s way many times, took him to all corners of the earth, and allowed him to be a part of some of the most incredibly diverse and challenging missions imaginable. He truly embodied America’s “Greatest Generation”.

Although he liked the east coast, he made the decision to come back to Sacramento because he loved the area, climate and especially the fishing. So he packed up his family and again moved again across the US. Once settled, of course one of the first things he bought was a fishing boat. It was a guarantee that when the “stripers were running”, he was in his boat in the middle of the Sacramento River. In 1970, his first grandchild was born, Michael (Mike) Louis Maddux. His world changed the instant he held young Michael for the first time. We would see a special sparkle in his blue eyes and a grin that went from ear to ear. All of a sudden, he just wanted to spend time with Michael. He even named his boat “Michael”. In 1973, Robert (Rob) Henry Maddux was born and he became a proud grandparent for the second time. It was about this time his name changed to “Pop”. He carried this title very proudly. He loved to take his grandsons for overnight stays, trips to the zoo and parks, water skiing and even the occasional trips to Disneyland. Finally In 1981, Summer Lea Maddux was born, and this time he had a granddaughter. This really made Joyce happy because she had always wanted a baby girl in the family to spoil and love.  He nicknamed her, Summer-Lee-Ski. He made every effort to attend any event involving his grandchildren. From birthdays and holiday celebrations to T-Ball and Little League, and Soccer, he was there. He even bought a large van so he could haul all the kids around to their activities. He later bought a great big Winnebago so he could take his grandchildren camping and share even more time with them.

He was extremely proud of each of his grandchildren. They each graduated from college, became responsible loving people, and have a spirit of love and family within each of them. In 1994, Michael married Michelle, the girl of his dreams and he welcomed a new Maddux to the family. He thought Michelle was absolutely perfect for Michael and commented many times how they were best friends. Finally, in 2004, they surprised everyone with the birth of Nathan Louis Maddux, Jesse’s first great grandchild. He finally earned the title of “GG-Pa” or poppa as the kids would say. And within a few short years, Sarah Lanae Maddux and Maya Nora Maddux were born. Although getting older had slowed him down, he still never missed an opportunity to spend time with his great grandchildren.  He never missed a birthday, holiday or any other event.

Over the last few years, his health began to decline, but his spirit for life and love of family never diminished. Joyce has been his wife, his partner, his best friend, and his true love for over 63 years. In the end, he passed away exactly as he had hoped, peacefully in his sleep, surrounded by his loving family, and in his home. He is finally in a very special place where only those with big hearts can go. May heaven open its doors widely for another great man, who humbly served his family and country and always gave so much of himself without any thought of reward or recognition. God Bless you.