John Arthur MacCarley May 28, 2012

John Arthur MacCarley John Arthur MacCarley of Palm Desert and Glendale California passed away on Friday May 25 at age 86. Captain MacCarley was well known among Sun City residents as a friend, volunteer, and popular singer in local productions. He and his family resided in Glendale and Burbank from 1952 through 2006, where he was an active member of the community. John was born in 1925 and raised in Philadelphia PA, attending South Philadelphia High School. He received Bachelor of Science Degrees in both Mechanical and Industrial Engineering from Montana State University in 1949, and later his MBA at UCLA and Pepperdine University. His career as an engineer and manager at Northrup Aircraft, Litton Systems, Lockheed and other aerospace firms in Southern California spanned forty years, during which time he was credited with a number of engineering innovations. He retired in 1990 after serving as the Director of Northup Services Division and as a project manager for the B2 Stealth Bomber.
Coming of age during WW II, he enlisted while still 17 years old in the Army Eighth Air Force, and completed 35 missions as a bombardier/navigator in B17s over Germany. On his 34th mission, he and his crew were nearly lost when attacked by a pair of the never-before-seen German ME262 jet fighters. Later in life, he served voluntarily as the Eighth Air Force Historian, and chronicled many of the easily-forgotten stories of this heroic chapter of American history.
Only two weeks prior to his passing, Captain MacCarley was honored as a member of the National Honor Flight, participating in Veterans Ceremonies at the National WW II Memorial in Washington DC. His televised story is online at https://www.kwqc.com/story/18502286/2012/05/17/honor-flight .
He is survived by his wife of 66 years Frances, sons Major General Mark MacCarley and Marlene Myers, Dr. Arthur and Donna MacCarley, Kurt MacCarley, daughter Clare MacCarley, and grandchildren Laura, Aaron, Jenna, Alison and Jillian, as well as the many people that knew and loved him, and will always remember him.
Funeral ceremonies will take place on Thursday May 31 at San Fernando Mission Cemetery, 11160 Stranwood Avenue, Mission Hills. Viewing at 9:00 AM, internment/memorial service at 11:00 AM.