John Tomlinson Beckett

John was born on December 12, 1919 in Atlanta, GA to Seymour and Mary Augusta Beckett, one of three children. The family moved to St. Johns Island, South Carolina when he was ten. John attended Clemson University where he majored in mechanical engineering. While in college, he was the captain of the boxing team, a distance runner on the track team, and a member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers National Honor Society. After graduation, he served in the U.S.Army Air Corp as a fighter pilot. He joined the 118th in March 1945 and transferred to the 75th Fighter Squadron after hostilities ended. Flight training brought him to the Fort Myers area where he met and married Barbara Ireland. After serving in WWII he moved to Fort Myers and worked as a wholesale distributor for Gulf Oil Corp.