CAPT Jon Andrew McBRIDE, USN (Ret)
 

Gentlemen,

 
It is my sad duty to inform you that on Wednesday, 7 August 2024, Golden Eagle Emeritus CAPT Jon A. McBRIDE, USN (Ret), made his Last Take Off with his son Jon and daughter Melissa at his side near his home in Cocoa, FL, after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer’s and cancer.
 
“Big Jon” was born in Charleston, West Virginia, on 14 August 1943 and raised in Beckley, WV, where he attended Woodrow Wilson High School, fully engaged in the sports of football, basketball and track, graduating in 1960. His interest in aviation began at an early age, since his home overlooked the Charleston Airport, and as he watched airplanes fly in and out of the field, he dreamed of becoming an aviator. He attended West Virginia University from 1960–1964 and was enrolled in the Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps, graduating in June 1964. After commissioning, he reported to Pensacola, FL, for flight training in January 1965, flying the T-34B Mentor, T-28 Trojan, F-9 Cougar, and F-11 Tiger, earning his Wings of Gold in Kingsville, TX, in August 1966. A year of significant events, 1966 also celebrated the marriage of Jon to Brenda Lou Stewart.
 
Jon’s next duty station was to NAS Oceana, VA, reporting to VF-101, the F-4 Phantom II fleet replacement squadron and from there to his first fleet assignment in January 1967 to VF-41, deployed on board USS Independence (CVA 62). During his tour Jon completed another deployment to the Mediterranean Sea from April 1968 to January 1969. His next assignment was to the U.S. Navy Postgraduate School in Monterey, CA, in January 1970 where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Aeronautical Engineering. Returning to the fleet in January 1972, Jon joined VF-11 and then VF-103 flying the F-4 aboard USS Saratoga (CV 60). This included a deployment to WestPac with Saratoga departing Mayport, FL, in April 1972 and returning in February 1973. During the nine line periods off Vietnam, Jon completed 64 combat missions. Accomplishing another long-time goal, Jon was selected for test pilot school and in January 1975 attended the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards AFB, CA. Follow-on orders were to VX-4, Pt. Mugu, CA, in January 1976 where he served as the Maintenance Officer and the Sidewinder Project Officer, specifically focused on the AIM-9L missile. He oversaw and shot multiple launches of the missile in the head-on, beam and rear aspect positions to verify operational employment. He also flew the VX-4 “Spirit of 76” F-4J Phantom II, painted in red, white and blue, in numerous air shows across the USA during the bicentennial year celebrations of 1976 through 1978.
 
One of Jon’s long-term goals, stated as a child, was to be an astronaut. In January 1978, he was selected along with 34 others from an applicant field of almost 10,000 to become the first class of Space Shuttle astronaut candidates and became an astronaut in August 1979. His NASA assignments and duties included lead chase pilot for the maiden voyage of Space Shuttle Columbia in 1981, piloted by fellow Golden Eagles — John YOUNG (deceased) and Bob CRIPPEN; software verification in the Shuttle Avionics Integration Laboratory; capsule communicator for STS-5, STS-6 and STS-7; flight data file manager; and orbital rendezvous procedures development. Jon was the pilot of STS-41G aboard Challenger, commanded by Bob CRIPPEN, in October of 1984 for an 8-day mission, which was the first shuttle flight with a crew of seven. This was also the first flight with two female crew members, the first for a U.S. woman to perform a spacewalk, and the first flight with Australian and Canadian crew members. The flight and crew activities were captured in a 1985 IMAX documentary titled “The Dream is Alive.” This ended up being his only shuttle mission, since although he was scheduled to be commander of STS-61E in March 1986, that flight was deferred due to the Challenger mishap in January 1986. In July 1987 Jon was assigned to NASA headquarters to serve as assistant administrator for Congressional Relations, holding that post though March 1989 when he chose to retire from NASA and the U.S. Navy.
 
Jon accumulated over 8,800 hours of flight time, over 600 carrier arrested landings, and flew over 40 different aircraft types, including the Space Shuttle. Notably, while flying many aircraft familiar to Naval Aviators, he also had the opportunity to fly a Tiger Moth (post-WW I biplane), B-17, B-24, B-25, B-26, F101A, C-141A, the G2 Space Shuttle trainer, and the list goes on. Without question, his childhood dreams of being an aviator were more than fulfilled. With 64 combat missions in Southeast Asia, his awards include a Legion of Merit, Defense Superior Service Medal, three Strike/Flight Air Medals, Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V”, and NASA Space Flight Medal.
 
After retirement from NASA and the U.S. Navy, Jon pursued a business career, founding the Flying Eagle Corporation in Lewisburg, WV. He was also the president of the Constructors Labor Council of West Virginia, a group representing heavy and highway construction contractors. Additionally, he was manager for Venture Capital funds. In 2001 through 2005 he led a project to purchase and refurbish 13 A-4N Skyhawks (purchased from Israel) to serve as adversary aircraft for U.S. air forces, based out of Mesa, AZ. In 2005 he became the Vice President of Astronaut Education Programs at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. He was a mainstay of the Astronaut Encounter program, an activity originally conceived for visitors to experience what it’s like to explore space through the perspective of veteran NASA astronauts. He was instrumental in creating Dine With An Astronaut, and later pioneered the popular Fly With An Astronaut program, a half-day program customized for a small group of guests to explore Kennedy Space Center with an official astronaut guide. He left his mark through countless media interviews, thousands of Astronaut Encounter presentations and as the voice of the shuttle landing video in Space Shuttle Atlantis. He continued this involvement through 2020, growing the visitor complex, designing exhibits, making visitor experience ever better, until he retired from the program. He remarked that while the Navy and NASA were the most exciting part of his career, “sharing space” through education was the most meaningful part of his career.
 
Jon’s career in aviation has been recognized in numerous ways, too many to list, but do include the following:  Recipient of West Virginia Secretary of State’s “State medallion,” Honorary Doctorates from Salem College, West Virginia University, the University of Charleston, the West Virginia Institute of Technology, and recognition as a Distinguished Alumni West Virginia University. In 2011, the NASA Independent Verification and Validation Facility in Fairmont, West Virginia dedicated a NASA software laboratory in his name, the Jon McBride Software Testing and Research Laboratory.
 
Jon is survived by his sister Margaret Lynn; his daughter, Melissa DeGuibert and her husband Mike, his son Jon McBride II and his wife Christie, and his other daughter, Lynn Miller and her husband Brad, and grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
 
The family will receive visitors at 1000 and services will be held at 1100 on Monday, 19 August 2024, at Morris Memorial United Methodist Church, 4615 MacCorkle Ave. SE, Charleston, WV 25304. Interment will follow at Greenbrier Memorial Gardens that afternoon, 11 Sunset Drive, Ronceverte, WV 24970, near Lewisburg. A wreath will be displayed at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Atlantis Exhibit on Tuesday, 13 August, at 1000, with a memorial service on Saturday, 5 October, at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Rocket Garden. To celebrate his life and honor his achievements, the family encourages you to contribute to your favorite charity — with your time, talents, or money. Some of his favorite charities were the SPCA of Brevard County, the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, the Astronaut Memorial Foundation, the American Space Museum in Titusville, FL, ALZ.org, Phi Delta Theta Foundation, and the WVU Cancer Institute.
 
Big Jon was proud and honored to be a Golden Eagle, as he remarked to his son. Jon, without question, embodied all those attributes desired of Golden Eagles. He was a Naval Aviator that could and did fly with the best, over the sea and into space, setting the bar ever higher for those who came behind him. And as importantly, he motivated thousands to attain their best in all endeavors.
 
He will be missed.
 
In sadness,
Marty Chanik
Pilot