Biographical Note
John Edward Stavast was born in 1926 in Denver, Colorado, the son of John and Anne Van Eck Stavast.
Stavast enlisted in the US Army Air Force in March 1944, and after training as a bomber crewman he served on occupation duty in Europe from November 1945 to August 1946. He was discharged in August 1946 and returned to civilian life, where he worked as a technician in his father’s construction business and completed an associates degree at Pueblo Junior College. Stavast was commissioned as an Air Force officer in January 1950, and trained as a pilot of bomber, fighter, and tactical reconnaissance aircraft. He served as a flight instructor for several years, including a stint training pilots of the Japan Air Self-Defense Force.
As a member of the 11th Tactical Reconnaissance Squadron, Stavast deployed to Southeast Asia in May 1967. His squadron of RF-4C aircraft was based at Udorn Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand and was tasked with flying photographic reconnaissance missions over Vietnam. Between May and September 1967 Stavast flew 90 combat missions and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross on three occasions for his actions under fire in completing reconnaissance missions despite facing formidable enemy air defense systems. On September 17, 1967 Stavast was flying a mission over North Vietnam when his aircraft was damaged by a surface-to-air missile, and Stavast and his weapon systems operator (rear-seat crewman) Gerald Venanzi were forced to eject.
Stavast was taken prisoner by the North Vietnamese military and spent more than five years as a prisoner of war at six different prison camps across North Vietnam. He was subjected to torture, starvation, and isolation, and the mistreatment by his captors resulted in injuries that included a broken arm, fractured skull, fractured jaw, a concussion, and a ruptured eardrum. These injuries were in addition to fractured vertebrae that he had suffered from parachuting from his downed airplane. Over the course of his time as a prisoner of war, Stavast was interned in multiple prison camps, including the “Hanoi Hilton” (Hoa Lo), the “Zoo,” the “Dogpatch” (Loung Lang), and the “Plantation.”
Stavast served as the senior ranking officer (SRO) at four of the camps he was interned in and was the commander of four different POW squadrons. He played a vital role in maintaining accountability of his fellow prisoners, as well as overseeing communication networks within the camps. These communication networks were critical in maintaining prisoner morale and encouraging the other prisoners to continue resisting their captors’ attempts to force them to collaborate on propaganda productions. For his leadership and courage during his time in captivity, Stavast was awarded two Silver Stars, the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star. Stavast was released on March 14, 1973 and returned to the United States.
Stavast continued his career in the Air Force, and after attaining the rank of Colonel, he retired from the Air Force in 1980. After retirement, he worked as a tax accountant and remained active in the veterans’ community, joining multiple veterans’ organizations and serving as a volunteer at Veterans Affairs hospitals. He attained a Bachelor of Arts degree in business accounting from St. Edward’s University in 1973, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the same university in 1981.
Stavast married Shirley Lee Metzger around 1966. Colonel Stavast died in July 2004 and was buried at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery in Texas.