John R HubbardA native Texan who received his public education in Denton, TX, then earned all of his degrees at The University of Texas, John Randolph Hubbard, better known as Jack, was a naval aviator during World War II. His life after the war as an educator. In1950 he received a PhD in History from the University of Texas. He then taught at Louisiana State University, Tulane, and Yale. Moving into administration, he became Dean of Sophie Newcomb College in New Orleans in 1953. He held that post for twelve years before joining the U. S. State Department going to India for four years with the Education Division of the Department's Agency for International Development. In 1969 Jack accepted a position at the University of Southern California (USC) as Vice President for Academic Affairs, and he spent the decade of the 1970s as President of that institution before retiring in 1980. When he retired as President of USC, he did not retire as a history professor. He continued teaching British History at USC until he was 91 years old taking a one (1) year sabbatical to serve as U.S. Ambassador to India from December 1988 - November 1989. John R. Jack Hubbard passed away on August 21, 2011.As a naval aviator from 1941 - 1946, Hubbard served first in the Atlantic and then in the Pacific where he was awarded a Distinguished Flying Cross and three Bronze Stars. In the air 100 miles off the coast of Japan when the atomic bomb was dropped over Hiroshima, he witnessed the event and felt the reverberations of the air turbulence while flying search and rescue in support of the crew of the Enola Gay.After the war, he continued his service as a naval aviator in the Naval Reserves from 1946 - 1956. In the fall of 1948, Hubbard spent his two weeks of active duty flying in the Berlin Air Lift - the largest humanitarian aid mission the world had ever seen and the first major battle of the Cold War.Jack Hubbard's memoirs of the War Years open in 1939 in Washington, D. C. where he is employed as private secretary to Walter Splawn, Director of the Interstate Commerce Commission. Through the influence and generosity of Splawn, Jack has an available front row seat to most of the important events of that time period. As a result, the rumblings of war ring loudly in his ears, and he responds by enlisting in the U. S. Naval Air Corps in 1940, a year and a half before Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor.As a historian, Jack Hubbard understood the importance of incorporating personalities, activities, and interpersonal relationships into his story for it is only through this integration that the audience can begin to grasp the enormity of the world stage on which his story is played out, where the dichotomy of the invincible champion of freedom and the mantra that there may be no tomorrow belie the caliber of men with whom Jack served. Besides telling a gripping story that makes for fascinating reading, his memoirs also provide a helpful understanding of the times and events beyond that found in most history books. Read More Read Less