More detail on this person: F-4 crash during a multi-aircraft Air-Air mission in support of an
evaluation for the photo-recon F-4's.I could talk Volumes about John Clinton McAnnally. He was
killed on a Wednesday, 'Tax Day'. It was a multi-aircraft Air-Air mission in support of an
evaluation for the photo-recce F-4's, known then as a MCCRES. The long & short is that John was
engaged with an A-4 aggressor aircraft, broke hard, & his aircraft departed. (it will never be known
if material failure (wing spars, etc.), was a contributing factor to the departure, but many of us
suspected it was. Those F-4's were OLD! Most, 2-3 times the expected 'service life.' They were
too low to recover, John was cool..., as ever, deployed the drag chute, stepped through some of the
'OCF' procedures, and at 70° nose low, he initiated command ejection, well within the envelope.
With about 8,000 lbs. of gas, the subsequent explosion created an enormous fireball, & the heat
melted his parachute as at was streaming out of the seat. Everything worked. Except John's luck.
It was already common knowledge at the time that John would be one of the first 3 F/A-18 USMC
C.O.'s. This information was last updated 05/18/2016
Please send additions or corrections to: HQ@vhpa.org VHPA Headquarters
Return to the Helicopter Pilot DAT name list
Return to VHPA web site
Date posted on this site:
01/11/2025
Copyright © 1998 - 2024 Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association
The RIO survived. 'Denny' Viera would later be my RIO when we went through TOPGUN. The fall killed
John, actually, there was a 'faint' pulse when the SAR helo arrived 45 minutes later, & he died
shortly thereafter. This was out by the Leach Lake complex. He was taken to Fort Irwin, I believe.
323' was an extremely tight unit then, as the 'Snakes' always are. I cannot believe that it has
been 25 years since that day. There was not one pilot or RIO in that unit who had anything but an
enormous respect 'Pal' as a leader. As for what he could do with that F-4 in the Air-Air /
Air-Ground arena.........? All of us were just pitifully envious.
I remember that my brother David was in the HMLA-369, 'Gunfighters' in the 1980's, & came across a
Vietnam cruise book that had pictures of John. I am sure he was in 369', Cobra's, I believe. One
side story about John. He always hated it when the new/young guys would complain about how 'tough'
things were. John had no use for those who did not appreciate their luck in seeking to live &
breathe aviation 24/7........, nor those who used it as a 'stepping stone' to the airlines. So he
told the story that he was, I believe, the second Marine to go through Navy Fighter Weapons School,
TOPGUN. He was second..., because he deserved to be second. One of his TOPGUN classmates
was Manfred Rietsch. That gives you an idea of the caliber' of aviators at the time, attending
TOPGUN. As John would say, "his reward....? I went to Vietnam, & flew helo's." He never
bitched......., And he was so very proud of his helo service there, he also flew F-4's in Vietnam, I
believe with VMFA-122.
I would be more than HAPPY, to share more if you like. 25 years, and I have never seen another like
John. I am positive I never will, not in this lifetime.
John's exact date of death was 15 April 1981. He was XO of our squadron at El Toro, CA.
VMFA-323.
I was John's body escort to his burial in Placerville, CA.
That was a tough one. He was and remains one of the truly 'Great' military Aviators & Leaders.
From: Michael Sobyra, Major (Ret), 'JUICE' at