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By PAT NIMMO RIDDLE
priddle@star-telegram.com

Bedford war pilot recounts his 'Life on a Short Fuse'

Few people get to know a real-life hero, but family, friends and acquaintances of retired Air Force Lt. Col. Jack Livingston Drain know he is such a man.

Drain, who lives in Bedford, flew 100 missions in an F-84 during the Korean War and later 168 missions in an F-4 during the Vietnam War.

About seven years ago, Jack began writing a book about his adventures and those of pilot friends who served with him. His book, Life on a Short Fuse, is expected to be out in March. The title comes from a story about a military cover-up of defective fuses that caused bombs to explode upon release. The fuses continued to be used even after some military officials realized their danger, he said.

"At least 20 pilots died and 12 F-4s were blown out of the sky," he said.

"Two other pilots were captured, enduring unspeakable torture, and one of them died while a prisoner."

The one who lived, Col. Thomas N. Moe, whose story is in Jack’s book, was introduced by vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin at last year’s Republican National Convention.

Born in Dallas and a graduate of Hillcrest High School, Jack was 17 when he began studies at Texas Tech University. He was 21 in 1950 when he entered the Air Force, and later, while still in the military, he received a degree in political science from Oklahoma State University.

Jack completed pilot training in 1952 and immediately left for the Korean War.

Upon his return, he married Carolyn Burgess and they spent more than five years in Yuma, Ariz., followed by tours of duty in France and Spain and an assignment in Enid, Okla., as an instructor pilot.

He went to Vietnam in 1967 to fly F-4s out of Da Nang and completed his combat tour in seven months before returning to Carswell Air Force Base in Fort Worth.

There, he flew KC-135 tankers and was executive officer of the 9th Bomb Wing. For six months, the unit deployed to the Far East, where Jack was the maintenance officer for 42 combat B-52s operating out of Guam and Okinawa.

After Jack retired in 1971, he worked in the world of finance until 1990, when he helped build a prescription-drug claim-processing service in the area.

In 2000, he began to address issues from his military service that disturbed him and started writing his book.

"Endorsement by veterans who have read the drafts of the book speak very highly of my experiences and validate the book’s authenticity," said Jack, now 79.

He especially recalls the time when his jet and another were over North Vietnam.

"I took a shell in my right wing," he said. "I fire-walled the throttles to afterburner and climbed out toward the sea to eject, because I was pretty sure we couldn’t stay in the air. Somehow we managed to get back to Da Nang, 150 miles away.

"After landing, I saw a hole in the right wing 36 inches long and 29 inches wide, dripping fuel and hydraulic fluid. There were also dozens of small holes all over the fuselage.

"I added another cluster to God’s Distinguished Flying Cross, because it really belonged to him," he said. "I just considered it on loan to me."

In a more humorous vein in his book, he describes the courage of his wife of 55 years. She was in a beauty shop getting a perm when she started having chest pains.

"She told her operator to finish taking the perm solution off, call 911 and then call Jack," he said. "A few days later she had quadruple bypass surgery.

"She is the real hero of my life, also to our five children, 11 grandchildren and four greats."

Jack’s editor and project manager, Mary Hollingsworth, who owns Creative Enterprises studio in Bedford, helped Jack get his book ready for publication. Any profits will go to children’s charities.

Jack can be contacted at jdrain4@tx.rr.com

Order your copy of Life on a Short Fuse today!