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Born in Washington DC, to Jessie Scott of Clinton, SC, and John Knox Arnold of Mount Sterling, KY, J<em>ohn Knox Arnold, Jr., </em>grew up knowing he would go to West Point, because his mother told him so. Things somehow worked out and, on 1 Jul 1932, "Jack" sauntered through the East Sallyport of Central Barracks.</p>
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Jack managed to survive the enthusiastic greeting of the beast detail and began to enjoy the regimen within a week or two. Thereafter, Jack was comfortable in his new life and confident of success in his chosen career. The 1936 <em>Howitzer</em> stated, since "that far away day when he sallied forth on the plains above the Hudson, Jack continued to climb in our admiration and regard. Academics, athletics, "dis"-all of them; he has taken as they came in a successful nonchalance of which anyone could be proud. We must admit, however, that the T.D. gave him quite a jar at one time, but in a short while he brought it to terms and continued on his way. Jack has justified our faith and respect, and we know that anyone who is associated with him in the future will support us in wishing him as successful a career in the years to come as he has had here at the Point." His activities included track, rifle marksman, and pistol marksman.</p>
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After graduation, Jack proceeded to Randolph Field, TX, for pilot training. Fifteen months later, his recent bride, May Lebett of Garden City, NY, pinned on his chest the wings of an Army pilot, and off they went together. The next four years included five moves, two field-training exercises, extended TDY, and such. Included were a stay at Patterson Field, OH, to check out the YG-1B autogyro, and a year at CalTech to earn a Master of Science degree in meteorology, followed by an assignment to Hickam Field. This paradise was spoiled by the Japanese attack, followed by the evacuation of May and their two sons, John and Charles, to the mainland.</p>
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The next ten years were spent in the air weather service. In 1944, Jack and four Mitchell WB-25s were assigned to the Army Hurricane Reconnaissance Unit. Jack and his fellow pilots were the first to intentionally fly into the eyes of hurricanes for the purpose of study. They also were the first to name the storms, a practice eventually adopted by the U.S. weather service. After graduating from the Armed Forces Staff College in 1948, Jack was named Chief of Staff, Headquarters, Air Weather Service, Andrews AFB, MD.</p>
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In 1951, Jack was given command of a newly activated unit, the 581st air re-supply and communications wing, with orders to deploy overseas within 12 months. The schedule was met when the air echelon arrived at Clark AFB, Philippines, in July 1952. Assigned to the 13th Air Force, elements of the wing rotated for training to other FEAP units in Japan and Korea. On 12 Jan 1953, a B-29 of the 581st with Jack aboard was shot down on a leaflet-dropping mission over North Korea. Jack and his surviving crewmembers were transferred to Red China and imprisoned for 30 months, with Jack in solitary confinement the entire time. In 1954 in Peking, the crewmembers were tried as spies. Jack received the longest sentence—ten years. The intercession of United Nations Secretary General Dag Hammarskjold, however, led to their release on the eve of the Geneva Conference (4 Aug 1955).Theywere the last American POWs from Korea to be returned to the U.S. The Air Force concluded that they endured "more brutality, tricks and contrivances" than any Americans held prisoner during the Korean conflict and praised the men’s "courage and staunchness of resistance."</p>
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Upon his return, Jack was assigned to Maxwell AFB, AL, where he established the National Headquarters for the Civil Air Patrol. His next assignment was as professor of air science at Florida State University, where he founded the Angel Flight. His last assignment was to Dobbins AFB, GA.</p>
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After Jack retired from the Air Force in 1962, he enrolled in graduate school after recording the highest quantitative score on the GRE of any graduate student at FSU up to that point. Jack was dean of students, then vice president of student affairs at Florida State University during the turbulent Vietnam War era and did not have much sympathy for the student radicals but was always fair in his dealings with all sides. When he left the university, the student newspaper, although often at odds with Jack, praised him for his integrity.</p>
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Jack was appointed the first director of the office of migrant labor in the Florida Department of Community Affairs, where he surprised some of his superiors with his forceful advocacy on behalf of migrant workers. Subsequendy, Jack moved to a position in the Florida Department of Labor, where he remained until he retired in 1979.</p>
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Jack remained active as a volunteer for the retired military community and for the Tallahassee community at large. He was a founder of the retiree activities office and an active member of Rotary, garnering Rotarian of the Year in 1990. He also was a member of the Air Force Association, the Tallahassee Retired Officers Association, the Quiet Birdmen, the Order of the Daedalians, Phi Delta Kappa Education Honorary, American ex-POWs, and the CalTech Alumni Association. Jack also could be found ringing the bell for the Salvation Army every Christmas, with a small mechanical Santa ringing a bell along with him—to the delight of children passing by.</p>
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Jack and May were married for 60 years, until her death in 1997. They had four children, 13 grandchildren, and 15 great-grandchildren. Jack took his final flight on 3 Jan 2002.</p>
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<em>Daughter Sally Roberts</em></p>