George Mcintosh

Commander George Robert "Mac" McIntosh, USN (Ret), 97, passed away peacefully at his Grand Junction CO home on September 10, 2019.  CDR McIntosh was born November 15, 1921 in Kansas City, MO to Roscoe Bartlett and Sally Irene McIntosh.

After the attack on Pearl Harbor, McIntosh joined the armed forces and began his Naval Air training.  After earning his wings, he was assigned to torpedo squadron VT87 on carrier USS Ticonderoga during World War II.  He received the Navy Cross for his heroic efforts in assisting of the sinking of the Japanese Battleship Hyuga in Kure Bay (July 1945) with two direct hits.  His squadron also took part in strikes on Tarawa, Minami, Taroa, Okinawa and Tokyo, where he received the Air Medal.

Sixty days after his squadron coordinated mulitple strikes on Okinawa, he was saddened with  news that his brother, PFC Charles Melvin McIntosh (1st Marine division) was killed on Okinawa -  nearly the same time his squadron was there providing support for the ground troops.

At the end of the war, McIntosh assisted in the rescue of our POWs by dropping food and supplies at various concentration camps near Tokyo.  His squadron was a part of the nearly 1000 planes that flew over the USS Missouri, signifiying the surrender signing and formal ending of WWII in the pacific.

After the war, McIntosh went back to school to get his Bachelors degree at Drake University.  He attended flight instructor school in Chicago, IL and later became a Naval flight instuctor in Corpus Christi, TX (Stearman N2S), in New Orleans, LA (F4U-Corsair) and a ground school/navigation instructor in Pensacola, FL.  He was coordinator and pilot of the Hawaiian Sea Frontier Search & Rescue team in Honolulu, HI; Officer in charge Airborne Early Detection in San Diego,CA (USS Lexington); dept head of Aviation & Technical Training in Memphis, TN; project staff at the Pentagon in Washington DC; commander in charge Navy Recruitment Office - Rocky Mountain District (CO, WY, NE, KS, SD) in Denver CO; and commanding officer Naval Air Station in Weymouth, MA where he retired from the Navy (Aug 1967) with 25 years of service.

The following month, George took a job with CIA's Air America flying C47 transport planes in Vietnam (Sept 1967 to July 1969) where he recorded over 2000 hours of flight time.

After returning from Vietnam, George flew for a private real estate company for approximately two years before he ventured into real estate and became the Director of International Sales, Woodmoor Corp, in Monument, CO. His love of the far east and the contacts he made there provided other occupational opportunities in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore.  He also worked in Iran with Bell Helicopter before being evacuated by the Air Force during the overthrow of the Shah. George worked until the age of 88 retiring with 16 years of service in court records research with Choicepoint.

George was a loving husband, father and grandfather. He loved to hunt and fish and would go often with his son Jeff and grandson Kyle.  He loved the mountains and would frequent them often with his family.  He loved baseball and always wanted to be professional baseball player growing up.  One of his favorite stories was playing catch on the beach in Miami with Ted Williams, then a Marine Corp pilot in training.

He is survived by his daughter, Catherine Emmett and son Jeff (Kim); grandchildren Courtney, Shelby, Kyle, Mallory, Kelsey, Katelyn and Kendra; great grandchildren Caius, Skylar and Ayla.  He is preceded in death by his wife, Marilyn; and daughter Sara.

George will be buried at Arlington National Cemetery along with his wife of 65 years, Marilyn.

Of all the planes he flew throughout his life, his favorite was the Torpedo Bomber (TBM Avenger). The same model he flew in the war resides right here in Grand Junction which he joyfully visited multiple times.  In his honor, donations can be made to Rocky Mountain Wings.