John Braddock Babbs Sr.

Colonel John Braddock Babbs, Sr., born July 17, 1917, passed away the evening of January 7, 2019 from an infection of the gallbladder. He was the son of Myron David Babbs and Harriet (Hattie) (Van Der Weerd) Babbs, born in Crookston, Minnesota. He enlisted in the US Army in 1941 as a private and made the Army his career rising to the rank of full Colonel. He served in WWII in the European Theater, Korea and Vietnam. He retired from the Army in 1968. Military awards included Legion of Merit, and the Purple Heart. After retirement from the military, he and several partners formed Coastal Land Corporation in1968 and were active in the Newport News area. He was predeceased by his wife Rosetta and his brothers Robert, Ralph and Charles and his sister Marian. He is survived by his three children, Barbara Babbs of Washington, DC; John Babbs Jr. of Winchester, VA; and Priscilla Hopkins of Woodbridge, VA. Colonel John Braddock Babbs was a Regular Army Colonel and Master Army Aviator whose military assignments were mainly in development, testing, training and combat usage of Aviation (helicopters and airplanes) in the Army. His 28 years of active service divide roughly as: 7 years combat, principally as a field unit commander and staff officer, in the campaigns of Africa, Sicily, Italy, Korea and two tours in Vietnam; 5 years of equipment service testing and Aviation field operations research; 11 years General Staff at Director and Project Manager levels; 3 years in War Gaming; and the balance as a student or faculty member in the Army's school system. He elected early retirement late in 1969 to take personal control of residential and commercial real estate holdings in upper Newport News. An avid hunter and horseman, for his 70th birthday he purchased himself a farm in Providence Forge, Virginia on which to raise and train hunting dogs and American Saddlebred horses. Planning for a memorial service to be held at his final residence, Berkeley Oaks, in Williamsburg Virginia, is underway. A military service is also planned.