Jack Catton was received his wings and was commissioned in the Army Air Forces in 1941. He flew the first B-29 bomber across the Pacific to the Mariana Islands in 1944. After serving in the Army Air Forces in World War II, he transferred to the U.S. Air Force when it became a separate branch of service in 1947. He retired in 1974 as a U.S. Air Force 4-Star General.