Transcribed from The Mariposa Gazette, Sept 20, 1979 by Steve Miller Service Today for Colonel John A. Macready of Darrah Full military services will be held today for Colonel John A. MacReady, 92, an aviation pioneer and holder of several aviation first, at Castle Air Force Base at 1:30 p.m. Col. MacReady died at his ranch home on Darrah Road, where he had resided since 1967, on land owned by his family for many years. Following cremation his ashes will be scattered over the ranch he loved, according to his wishes. He was a native of San Diego, and lived in Searchlight, Nevada as a youth where his father was engaged in mining. MacReady had a long and varied record in aviation. MacReady and Oakley Kelley flew from New York to San Diego in May 1923, marking the first trans- continental flight of the United States. Earlier, on October 5, 1922, he and Kelley had set a record for the longest flight at that time, 35 hours, 18 minutes, also making the first inflight refueling. Mr. MacReady later set a world altitude record for an open cockpit plane of 40,800 feet. For the altitude record, he survived temperatures down to 80 degrees below zero by breathing oxygen through a welder's mask. He is also credited with making the first aerial photographic survey of the United States. Other aviation first credited to him include making the first night parachute jump and demostrating the practicability of dusting crops by airplane. In 1968, he was enshrined in the Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio, and was the first to receive the board of directors award of the American Aviation Historical Society. Other honors include the Distinguished Flying Cross, the French Croix de Guerre with palm, honorary member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots and elder statesman of the National Aeronautics Association. He joined the Army in 1917, becoming one of the first aviation cadets. By age 33, he was the chief test pilot and chief of the flying section at McCook Field in Dayton. He left the Army in 1926 but was recalled during World War II and flew with the 12th Air Force. In 1942, he was named commander of the Merced Army Air Field, which later became Castle Air Force Base. Surviving are his widow, Nelliejay; two daughters, Jo-Anne Calhoun of Yuba City and Sally Jean Liston of Chico, and seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.