Gentlemen,
It is my sad duty to inform you that on Saturday, 17 May 2025, Golden Eagle Emeritus CAPT Jerry B. “Devil” HOUSTON, USN (Ret), made his Last Take Off in Fort Worth, TX, with his family by his side, after suffering a major heart attack several days prior.
Devil was born on 01 June 1934 in Lubbock, TX. Soon thereafter, he moved to Ardmore, OK, where he spent his early childhood with his mother, two aunts, and his grandmother, who operated a small boarding house. Even though his parents were divorced, he was raised in a close knit and hard-working household. With the arrival of World War II, he moved to Amarillo, TX, where he attended junior high school and spent the summer working at his future stepfather’s ranch in northern Arizona, with the long days and hard labor further shaping his character. High school years were at the Peacock Military Academy in San Antonio, TX, where he thrived, serving as a battalion commander, student council president, valedictorian of his class, and lettered in football, baseball, and track. Summers continued to be spent at the Arizona ranch.
Texas A&M was his college of choice, where he joined the football team and lived in the athletic dormitory. He also worked in the oil fields near Farmington, NM, and participated in Coach Paul “Bear” Bryant’s infamous football camp in Junction, TX, which left a lasting impression. The spring of 1956 was a critical juncture of Devil’s young life. He chose to leave college, married the love of his life, Shirley, in March 1956 and then elected to enter the Naval Aviation Cadet (NavCad) Program and become a Naval Aviator, joining the Navy on 06 June 1956. He earned his Wings of Gold on 20 September 1957, and reported to his first operational squadron, VF-173 Jesters, in April 1958. Stationed at NAS Jacksonville, FL, he flew the FJ-3M Fury and served as the safety officer. Also serving in the squadron was fellow nugget and Golden Eagle Roger BOX, and in the small world category, they were fortunate enough to be recipients of several lectures on air-to-air tactics by Golden Eagle Royce WILLIAMS — which became the foundation for Devil and Roger in developing their air-to-air skills. This was a short tour, since the squadron disestablished in February 1959. Fortunately, Devil transitioned to the F-8 Crusader and joined the VF-103 Sluggers in March 1959 at NAS Oceana, VA. While there he served as the schedules officer and deployed aboard USS Forrestal (CVA 59) on a Mediterranean Sea deployment, including a port visit to Split, Croatia, (then a part of Yugoslavia). At the completion of that deployment, he left the Navy in September 1960, rejoining in March 1964. During this hiatus from the Navy, Devil completed his bachelor’s degree and worked in the oil fields of Texas. With the activity in Southeast Asia heating up, he promptly rejoined the Navy to be a part of the solution.
In what was probably a “payback” tour, his first assignment in March 1964 was to the VT-9 Tigers at NAS Meridian, MS, flying the T-2A Buckeye, and serving as the NATOPS officer. At the completion of that two-year tour, he next joined the VF-194 Red Lightnings in November 1966 at NAS Miramar, CA, once again flying the F-8E Crusader, and serving as the assistant maintenance officer. Deploying aboard USS Ticonderoga (CVA 14), Devil completed a combat deployment to Vietnam from Nov 1966 to May 1967. During that deployment, the Carrier Air Wing flew 11,650 combat missions over North Vietnam. Characteristic of carrier deployments in that time frame, the ship/air wing team deployed again in Dec 1967, seven months after the previous deployment, to Yankee Station. Ticonderoga was there for the beginning of the Tet offensive, the siege of Khe Sanh, and the seizure of USS Pueblo off North Korea. Tico steamed to the waters off North Korea in response to the capture of Pueblo, and with USS Enterprise (CVAN 65) planned strikes against seven North Korean airfields, which obviously were never executed. Once again, the Carrier Air Wing flew over 13,000 combat missions over North Vietnam before returning home in August 1968. On return, Devil transferred in August 1968 to the VF-124 Gunfighters, the F-8 RAG, at NAS Miramar, CA, serving as the tactics officer.
In August 1970 Devil joined the VF-51 Screaming Eagles, again at NAS Miramar, CA, in mid deployment aboard USS Bon Homme Richard (CVA 31), flying the F-8J. The ship returned to homeport in November 1970 and VF-51 transitioned to the F-4B Phantom II. Devil served as the operations officer while there, including the next deployment aboard USS Coral Sea (CVA 43) in September 1971. This deployment was during a high operational tempo in Vietnam that included the mining campaign against North Vietnamese ports, the North Vietnamese Easter offensive, and the increased MiG activity of April/May 1972. During this time some commented on the Screaming Eagles aircraft markings since they were highly visible. In an interview later in his career, Devil remarked that while other squadrons were looking for ways to tone down their markings and even conceal their aircraft, for morale VF-51 wanted markings “to be audacious; we wanted to be a magnet for MiGs ... intruders in our airspace didn’t have to speculate about who just whipped their ass.” On 06 May 1972, Devil did just that, downing a MiG-17 over Bai Thuong airfield with a Sidewinder missile.
Returning home in July 1972, Devil attended the Naval War College in Newport, RI, completing the Command and Staff curriculum. In September 1973 he was back in the cockpit at the VF-121 Pacemakers, the F-4 RAG, at NAS Miramar, CA, flying the F-4J and serving as the safety officer. In January 1975 he took command of the VF-21 Freelancers, at NAS Miramar. On completion of that successful command tour in April 1976, he reported to the Army War College in Carlisle, PA. His next assignment in July 1977 was another command tour commanding VF-171, the F-4 RAG at NAS Oceana, VA, flying the F-4J. His next tour in October 1978 took him overseas to Italy where he served as the operations officer at CTF-60. Completing that tour in 1981, he went through the training pipeline for prospective ship commanding officers before taking command of USS Caloosahatchee (AO 98) on 29 March 1982. He completed a deployment to the Mediterranean Sea from March 1982 to September 1982 and finished this highly successful command tour on 19 July 1983. His next tour took him to CINCUSNAVEUR where he once again held the billet of operations officer, completing that tour in 1986. After an appropriate training track, in 1987 he became the Naval Attache in Buenos Aires, Argentina, once again flying, this time in a C-12. On completion of that tour Devil retired from the Navy on 29 September 1990.
It goes without saying that Devil was an operator’s operator, evidenced by the numerous times he served as an operations officer and his extensive operational tours. He led from the front, accumulating over 5,500 flight hours in his career, 840 carrier arrested landings, 361 combat missions during high tempo operations in Vietnam from 1966–1972, and was awarded the Silver Star, three individual Air Medals, and 25 Strike/Flight Air medals. There is no doubt that some memorable stories of flying the F-8 exist, especially at night, off Forrestal, Ticonderoga, and Bon Homme Richard, and the Phantom II off Coral Sea.
After retirement, Devil settled in Fort Worth, TX, to enjoy life and family. He also authored and published a book in 2005, Fight to Fly, a story of an F-8 pilot in the Vietnam war era. That book is still available on Amazon.
Devil is survived by his wife Shirley, his daughters Shelly and Cindy, and five grandchildren. The family will hold a celebration of life for family and a few close friends in late June/early July.
Devil HOUSTON was truly an American original. |
