PPRuNe Forums - View Single Post - 139 Down Abu Dhabi
View Single Post
Old 29th Jun 2009, 06:38
  #156 (permalink)  
Steve Davis
 
Join Date: Jun 2009
Location: texas
Age: 67
Posts: 3
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes on 0 Posts
SO SAD

Got the news yesterday on this forum of John Hanley's death. I dont know what led me here but it was a shock , I am having a hard time with it. I called little John his son in Texas last night it was probably the saddest night of my life. We talked about Big John and when he was young in Rock Port Texas when we both flew for ERA HELICOPTERS. That was in the early 80s when LITLE JOHN was 9 years old. After that I called a few of Johns old friends that went back to his Army days in the late 1970s. We shed more than a tear. You see none of us got the news, everyone back in the states in his old friend circles were in the dark. After the Gulf and his King Air job John went to UAE and we had very little contact. Some of us went on to airline jobs and corporate aviation. All of us, myself, DON ROLLER, ROGER BARKER , MARTY MARSHALL and GLEN FARLEY thought of JOHN P HANLEY as a family member and brother. I met John the first day of boot camp, we became lifelong friends. John had a lot of flying time from his bush days in Alaska, what story's. His dad Pete got killed there in a Vol par crash, that broke Johns heart, his dad was his idol, and what a idol, P-40 pilot Air Corp major (ret) then he went to work flying for Air America in S.E. Asia. John grew up there he even had a pet Gibbon (monkey) as a child, what a great life, that is why he had a fascination for Asia. I can say this John always missed his dad, Asia, and Alaska, John is with his dad now. God bless you John we love you.

Last edited by Steve Davis; 3rd Jul 2009 at 21:38.
Steve Davis is offline