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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Sponsor

Honored by:
Ms. Virginia Cable

Born Waterloo, Iowa 1904, died Los Angeles, California 1939

John bought a wrecked Jenny in about 1924 or 25 repaired it and taught himself how to fly. He married Vera Mae Trent in 1926 and together they barnstormed in northern Iowa, southern Minnesota and western Illinois, he did the flying and she sold the tickets. When their first child Clyde came along he decided to go to work for an airline. His career moves are listed below.

Flew for Yellow Cab airways out of Des Moines and Des Moines Airlines.
Brother Dewey and John started Cable Airways out of Waterloo and flew passengers and freight around the Midwest.
Joined Boeing Air Transport in Cheyenne and flew 40-Bs from Cheyenne to Salt Lake City and Omaha. The National Air Pilots Association was founded in Cheyenne and he was one of the original members. He was called to fly for Col. Clarence Young, head of Dept. of Commerce, as his personal pilot. He was based in DC and flew Ford Tri-Motors. With the change of administrations from Hoover to Roosevelt he was sent to Salt Lake City as an inspector for the aviation division of Dept. of Commerce.
He was then hired as a test pilot for Douglas Aircraft Co. He took a brief break to fly for TWA, flying out of Newark and Kansas City.
Then back to work for Douglas Aircraft Corp He was co-pilot on the maiden flight of the triple tailed proto type DC-4..
He was then promoted to chief test pilot for Douglas.
He was killed flying the proto type DB-7 which evolved into the A-20 attack bomber and subsequently the A-26. The accident happened at Mines Field, later LAX, while demonstrating for the French Air Ministry, January 23, 1939
He was survived by his wife, Vera Mae, and 3 children, Clyde, Betty and John.
He was the first pilot inducted into the Iowa Aviation Hall of Fame.
His airline pilot’s number was 1813 which was then transferred to his son Clyde in 1951.