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 Captain John Madden - Palm Springs Air Museum - Palm Springs, CA
N 33° 49.958 W 116° 30.273
11S E 545842 N 3743709
This bench memorializing Capt. John Madden is located in front of the Palm Springs Air Museum in Palm Springs, CA.
Waymark Code: WMGTWR
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 04/10/2013
Views: 7
Visitors to the Palm Springs Air Museum might notice a small, metal plaque on one of two benches that sit near the entrance to the museum. The plaque reads:
In Loving Memory of
Captain John Madden |
Who was Capt. Madden? A USAF pilot in Vietman and credited with three MiG-19/21 kills, flying an F-4 Phantom, of course. I located a photo-blog site of a fellow fighter pilot from the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron (known as the 'Triple Nickel') who uploaded a number of pictures of his squadrom mates, including Capt. Madden, and I've uploaded them with captions on each photo.
Found on a website selling paintings of fighter jets from Vietnam:
Flying his first combat mission on 5th October 1965, leading fighter pilot John Madden flew three combat tours in Vietnam, notching up an impressive record of 3 kills and 1 damaged, flying F-4 Phantoms. On 28th August 1972 he was part of the same mission when Steve Ritchie made Ace status. That same year Madden led over 50 combat flights and he never lost a wingman. Flights under his leadership accounted for 5 enemy aircraft downed, and 1 damaged. He left Vietnam in 1975, and retired from the USAF in 1984.
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Another website highlights Capt. Madden's backseat navigator (Weapons Systems Officer, or WSO), Capt. Charles B. DeBellevue, who is credited as the first non-pilot 'ace' in the USAF and the Vietnam War's leading ace, with six MiG-19/21 kills. He made his fifth and sixth kill with Capt. Madden piloting the mission. His bio reads:
 First Non-Pilot Ace Sept 9,1972: To become the Vietnam War's leading ace, Capt. Charles B. DeBellevue, flying as a weapon systems officer in a 555 TFS F-4, shot down his fifth and sixth enemy plane. He became the first non-pilot ace in the USAF. For this feat, DeBellevue shared the 1972 Mackay Trophy with Capts. Richard S. "Steve" Ritchie and Jeffrey S. Feinstein. During Linebacker strikes on September 9, 1972, a flight of four F-4Ds on MiGCAP west of Hanoi shot down three MiGs. Two were MiG-19s downed by Capt John A. Madden, Jr. and his WSO Capt DeBellevue. For Madden, the victories constituted his first and second MiG kills, but for DeBellevue they were numbers five and six, moving him up as the leading MiG destroyer of the war and elevating him to "Ace" status. When DeBellevue acquired the MiGs on radar, the flight maneuvered to attack. Madden and DeBellevue made the first move. They got a visual on the MiG about 5 miles out on final approach with his gear and flaps down. Getting a lock on him, they fired missiles but they missed. They were coming in from the side-rear and slipped up next to that MiG no more than 500 feet apart. He got a visual on us, snatched up his flaps and hit afterburner, accelerating out. It became obvious we weren't going to get another shot at the MiG. DeBellevue describes the next two engagements as follows: "We acquired the MiG's on radar and positioned as we picked them up visually. We used a slicing low-speed yo-yo to position behind the MiG-19's and started turning hard with them. We fired one AIM-9 missile which detonated 25 feet from one of the MiG-19's. We switched the attack to the other MiG-19 and one turn later we fired an AIM-9 at him. I observed the missile impact the tail of the MiG. The MiG continued normally for the next few seconds, then began a slow roll and spiraled downward, impacting the ground with a large fireball." Madden and DeBellevue returned to their base thinking they had destroyed only the second MiG-19. Only later did investigation reveal that they were the only aircrew to shoot at a MiG-19 which crashed and burned on the runway at Phuc Yen that day. That gave them two MiG-19 kills for the day and brought DeBellevue's total to six MiG kills, the most earned during the war. During his combat tour, DeBellevue logged 550 combat hours while flying 220 combat missions, 96 of which were over North Vietnam. His skill as a weapon systems officer was recognized when he and the other two Air Force "Aces", Ritchie and Feinstein, received the 1972 Mackay Trophy.[16] He also received the Veterans of Foreign Wars' Armed Forces Award and the Eugene M. Zuckert Achievement Award.
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And lastly, another article from Edmond, Oklahoma's Edmond Sun:
On Sept. 9, DeBellevue was flying with Capt. John Madden Jr. when they were making a turn to withdraw following an encounter with a lone MiG. That’s when two MiG-19s swarmed in for an attack.
“We acquired the MiGs on radar and positioned as we picked up on them visually,” DeBellevue recalled later. “We used a slicing low-speed yo-yo to position behind the MiG-19s and started turning hard with them. We fired one AIM-9 missile, which detonated 25 feet from one of the MiG-19s. We then switched the attack to the other MiG-19 and one turn later we fired an AIM-9 at him. I observed the missile impact the tail of the MiG. The MiG continued normally for the next few seconds, then began a slow roll and spiraled downward, impacting the ground with a large fireball. Our altitude was approximately 1,500 feet at the moment of the MiG’s impact.”
Madden and DeBellevue returned to their base thinking they had destroyed only the second MiG-19. An investigation, aided by the testimony of another aircrew, revealed that they were the only aircrew to shoot another MiG-19 which crashed and burned on the runway at Phuc Yen that day.
DeBellevue was asked how he felt about becoming an ace.
“I feel pretty good about it. It’s the high point of my career,” he said at the time. “There’s no other job that you have to put out as much for. It’s frustrating, and yet when you do shoot down a MiG, it’s so rewarding.”
During his combat tours, DeBellevue flew 220 combat missions, 96 of which were over North Vietnam. He is credited with a total of six MiG kills, the most earned by any U.S. aviator during the Vietnam War.
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I could find no info on when John Madden passed but this bench in front of the Palm Springs Air Museum remembers a man who had some great achievements during his military career as a pilot.
Where is this bench located?: Palm Springs Air Museum
Who is this bench honoring?: Capt. John Madden
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Visit Instructions:
To log this waymark you can take a photo of the entire bench. You may have yourself (Sitting of course) or your GPS in the photo. A photo is not required, but encouraged.
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