Lieutenant General Jefferson Davis HOWELL Jr., USMC (Ret),
Golden Eagle Emeritus
Gentlemen,
 It is my sad duty to inform you that on Tuesday, 1 July 2025, Golden Eagle Emeritus LtGen Jefferson Davis “Beak” HOWELL Jr., USMC (Ret), made his Last Take Off in Bee Cave, TX. He suffered a brain bleed stroke in the morning and passed in the hospital later that evening. He was 85 years old.
 Beak was born on 10 August 1939 in Victoria, TX, where he was also raised. He participated in all sports in high school, and after graduation, he attended the University of Texas, Austin, where he earned a degree in political science. As he tells it, on a dare from a fraternity brother, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps through the Platoon Leaders Class (PLC) program. Starting The Basic School in September 1961, he completed that and further training as an infantry officer over the following year, reporting to his first duty station in September 1962 at Camp Pendleton, CA, with 2nd Battalion, 7th Marines as a platoon leader. Beak also did a tour with 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marines in Okinawa, and with 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines back in Camp Pendleton prior to reporting to Pensacola, FL, for flight training in April 1964. While in Pensacola, Beak also met the love of his life, Janel, whom he would marry two years later. Earning his Wings of Gold on 15 October 1965 after flying the T-34 Mentor, T-2A Buckeye, TF/AF-9J Cougar, and the F-11 Tiger, Beak next reported to H&MS-24 at Cherry Point, NC, in November 1965, serving as the training officer and flying the T-1A Seastar and C-47 Skytrain. In February 1966, remaining at Cherry Point, he joined the VMFA-531 Grey Ghosts flying the F-4B Phantom II and serving as the schedules officer. This first squadron began his operational aviation career as well as his marriage, with Beak and Janel marrying in April 1966 in Wilmington, NC.
 In May 1967, Beak joined the VMFA-323 Death Rattlers based in Iwakuni, JA, but deployed to Chu Lai, Vietnam, flying the F-4B, before transferring to the VMFA-542 Tigers in August 1967, also flying out of Chu Lai, and later in the tour, Da Nang. In August 1968 he returned stateside to VT-21, Kingsville, TX, as a flight instructor in the TF-9J, AF-9 and the TA-4J Skyhawk. After a year there, he entered graduate school back at his alma mater, University of Texas, Austin, TX, earning a master’s degree in economics. He also remained current in the TA-4J and the T-33 Shooting Star. In January 1971, he reported to VMFAT-101 Sharpshooters at MCAS Yuma, AZ, instructing in the F-4B and serving as the assistant maintenance officer. During his time there the squadron earned its first CNO Safety Award for Excellence after completing over 18,300 mishap-free flight hours. Beak’s next tour in May 1972 took him to VMFA-115 Sliver Eagles, based in Da Nang, Vietnam, again flying the F-4B, where the squadron flew operations to oppose the NVN Easter Offensive. Moving to the Royal Thai Air Base Nam Phong, Thailand, in July 1972, the squadron continued close air-support missions and Operation Linebacker missions, with Beak flying 12 BARCAP missions in that time frame. VMFA-115 was awarded the MCAA’s Robert M. Hanson award as the top fighter attack squadron in the Marine Corps for 1972.
 Detaching from the Silver Eagles in June 1973, Beak reported to the U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis, MD, in July to serve as an Economics Professor for the next three years. Once again, he kept current flying the T-33. In June 1976 he moved to Quantico, VA, as a student in Marine Corps Command and Staff College. After that one year, in July 1977 he reported to VMFA-212, based at MCAS Kaneohe, HI, also deploying to Iwakuni, JA, for his XO/CO tour, flying the F-4J and F-4S. While in command, in May 1980, he was the recipient of the Navy League’s John Paul Jones award for inspirational leadership. At the completion of his successful command tour in June 1980, Beak reported to Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, AL, as a student at USAF Air War College for one year. In June 1981, his next tour took him to Washington, DC, to HQMC where he worked on the Marine Corps aviation transition and procurement roadmap and programming and budgeting issues for the next three years. Returning to paradise in July 1984, Beak took command of Marine Air Group-24, MCAS Kaneohe, HI, flying the F-4S, TA-4F, CH-46 Sea Knight, CH-53 Sea Stallion, and the UH-1N Twin Huey. Surviving a UH-1N crash off Lanai in October 1984, he completed a successful two-year command tour in July 1986 and next became the Chief of Staff for the 1st Marine Brigade for one year, again stationed at Kaneohe, and remained current in the F-4S. In August 1987 he returned to Washington, DC, to HQMC where he once again was involved with aviation procurement, budgeting and programming.
 Beak was selected for Brigadier General in 1989, and with that promotion reported in July 1989 to NATO, Headquarters Northern Command at Kolsas, Oslo, Norway, as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Joint Operations and as the Senior U.S. Naval Officer. Once again returning to HQMC in July 1991, he served as the Assistant Chief of Staff for Aviation and managed to log some flight time in the F/A-18 Hornet and C-12 Huron. This was a short tour as Beak next became the Commanding General of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing in May 1992, stationed at MCAS Cherry Pt., NC, where he flew the F/A-18A/C/D, CH-46, CH-53, UH-1N, C-130 Hercules, and the TAV-8B Harrier. In July 1994 he returned to Hawaii to Camp Smith to assume the billet of Deputy Commanding General of Marine Forces Pacific (MARFORPAC). He became the acting Commanding General in June 1995 and assumed command in September 1995 for the next two and a half years, relinquishing command in May 1998. Beak retired from the U.S. Marine Corps on 31 July 1998.
 In an aviation career that spanned 34 of his 37 years of active duty, Beak logged 4,292 hours of flight time, in a variety of aircraft noted above, with almost 2,700 of those hours in VF/VFA aircraft. He had three combat tours in Vietnam, totaling 334 combat missions in the F-4B, and one combat mission in the F/A-18D (in Bosnia), and was awarded two individual Air Medals, a Bronze Star with Combat “V,” and a Navy Commendation Medal with Combat “V.” Without question, his career is a prime example of leading from the front, in the air.
 After retiring from MARFORPAC in Hawaii, Beak decided he wanted to start his next career based in Texas. In February 1999, he joined Science Application International Corporation (SAIC) as a Deputy Program Manager and in August 1999 became a Senior Vice President and Program Manager for the Safety, Reliability, and Quality Assurance contract with Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, managing more than 500 people focused on safety and mission assurance on the Space Shuttle and International Space Station programs. In April 2002, he became the 8th Director of JSC (in its 40-year history at that time), the first and only federal government contractor to fill that position — all previous directors had been civil servants. During his tenure at JSC he provided steady leadership to achieve needed schedules and goals, especially after the tragic loss of the shuttle Columbia and its crew on 1 February 2003. He left JSC in October 2005 shortly after the return to flight of mission STS-114. While at JSC, Beak was awarded the 2003 Gold Knight of Management Award from the National Management Association, NASA’s Outstanding Leadership Award for 2003, and NASA’s Distinguished Service Medal in 2005. In 2006 he became an Adjunct Professor and Senior Research Fellow at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, serving in that position for many years.
 Beak is survived by his wife of 59 years, Janel, his two children, son Jefferson Davis III, daughter Melissa Jane and four grandsons and one granddaughter. A graveside service is planned for 1000, 1 August 2025, at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, TX. Any remembrance donations can be made to the Tunnels to Towers Foundation or the Semper Fi Foundation.
He will be missed.
In Sadness,

Marty CHANIK
Pilot