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Jack McMahan, author of McMahan's Philatelic History of the Conquest of space and three updates, passed away Thursday, September 3rd after a resurgence of cancer. He had lost a partial lung to the disease seven years ago. Although macular degeneration that started up around then had left him only a small about of peripheral vision, Jack was still working on his catalog updates as late as two weeks ago. Jack served in the US Navy during WWII, participating in an elite group of predecessors of the US Navy Seals of today. He did advance reconnaissance for every one of the island invasions of the Pacific. I believe he told me that Tarawa was the worst in that while a life raft was picking up his team one by one, a shell hit the raft directly, and he, not having been picked up yet, was the sole survivor. Once Jack had to start going to the VA Hospital for his eyes, a great amount of the pent up survivor guilt he had experienced, came to the surface and he had a very difficult last few years. But his spirits were always up when collectors, especially space cover collectors, came to see him. After having been taken to the cleaners by his partner in the insurance business he ran for years, Jack opened up a stamp shop in Houston. He brought in a couple of box cars to expand his square footage and a caboose, just because it was a fun thing to have. My young family even camped out in his caboose on a return from the Gulf of Mexico many years ago and my three children have that as a cherished memory. His office and his home served as a base for many gatherings of stamp collectors as he was a perfect host. Jack is survived by his wife, Martha, and his nine children and their families. Astrophilately has lost one of its pillars with this honest and fine gentleman.
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