Humble Ferguson takes Honor Flight
VICI PAPAJOHN Gulf Breeze News vici@gulfbreezenews.com

Ferguson's mother presented him with an ironclad New Testament, one of the few items of memorabilia that survived the total destruction of his home in Hurricane Ivan. He proudly wears his "World War II Veterans" hat his son gave him for his 84th birthday.

"I've been to Washington before, but I've never seen the World War II Memorial," says WWII veteran Jack Ferguson. "I can only imagine how it will affect me; even the monument on Bayfront (Parkway in Pensacola) impresses me."

If all goes according to plans, Jack Ferguson will have visited the memorial in D.C. on Wednesday, April 30, on the first Emerald Coast Honor Flight along with other veterans from Northwest Florida.

It is hard to imagine the humble man as one of the renowned fighting personnel attached to the famous 474th Air Fighter Group, as he is quiet and unassuming. This member of the Greatest Generation wears the mantle of excellence and sacrifice lightly.

"I don't want to be played up as some kind of a hero," Ferguson says. "I just did the job my country asked me to do."

The retired pharmacist, 84, began his military service in 1942 in the Army Air Corps (later to become the Air Force) when he was sworn in at the age of 18. By 1944, he was overseas in England with the 474th. He remembers that the unit was bombed the very first night he arrived. He spent his war years serving in England, France, Belgium and Germany with the 474th in support of their bombing missions in successful Lockheed P38 "Lightning."

Vici Papajohn/Gulf Breeze News Jack Ferguson's wife, Margaret, credits this iron-clad Bible for keeping her husband of 55 years safe during his service.

The 474th compiled a record of 822 combat missions flying out of airfields in England, France, Belgium and Germany progressing across the European battlefield as the Allies closed in on Germany. A total of 113 enemy aircraft were destroyed in the air, some 90 on the ground, while 239 were damaged. Over 10,000 pieces of enemy equipment such as tanks, trucks, armored vehicles, locomotives and rail cars were destroyed or damaged, and the group was awarded the United States' Distinguished Unit Citation for action, as well as receiving the Belgian Fourragere.

Over 1,400 personnel, both officers and enlisted men, served in the 474th, and many gave their lives for their country.

"I seem to remember the parts I'd rather forget, and I can't remember most of what I'd really like to about the war experience," Ferguson said. "My son, Robert, served in Desert Storm and recently retired after 27 years of service in the Air Force.

"It's interesting because he recently gave me this World War II Veteran hat, and people actually walk up to me, stop me and say 'thank you' to me. To me, it was just the right thing to do. Just this week, we were in the grocery store and a lady reached out her hand and said 'thank you for what you did.'

"It is really something to know what it means to Americans."

Ferguson was shot at many times, and his unit bombed, but he was never injured. Ferguson returned to the United States in 1945. He has quietly lived the life of a civilian pharmacist in Gulf Breeze since 1956. The only memorabilia he has from his service are his Soldiers Handbook and an iron-clad New Testament his mother presented him before he departed for battle. Everything else was lost when the Fergusons' Gulf Breeze home was destroyed by Hurricane Ivan in 2004.

"I think that Bible his momma gave him kept him safe," Ferguson's wife, Margaret, said.

They have been married for over 55 years.

"It was such a relief when he returned home safely," she said.