Lt. Colonel Edward B. Feathers, USAF Retired, 95, of Pensacola, Florida passed away peacefully at his home on December 7, Pearl Harbor Day. Edward was born on August 8, 1917 in Watauga, TN to Edgar J. and Hattie Mae Feathers. He completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics from East Tennessee State College in 1941. He earned a pilot's license at age 19 before joining the Flying Cadets of the U.S. Army Air Corps in '41 following the attack on Pearl Harbor. Like other young couples facing an uncertain future, he married his college sweetheart, Mildred Adelaide Jones, at Love Field in San Antonio the same year. Second Lieutenant Feathers was selected to pilot the Army's secret weaponthe B-29 Bombercapable of long flights over the Pacific. Only top pilots were selected for this dangerous mission with little time to train. Made Captain of the Z-Square-49 Boeing bomber, he and his crew flew 35 bombing missions over Tokyo and other sites in Japan. Under dangerous fire, disabled engines, and injured crew members, he piloted the B-29 with incredible skill and with his crew persisted to Allied Victory. For their meritorious service, the entire crew received the Air Medal. His plane was specially recognized in 1945 by selecting it to be dedicated to the 4th Marines, who liberated the Pacific Islands. The ceremony was attended by the U.S. Army Air Corps Pacific Command including General Curtis LeMay. He and his crew stood honor guard to accept the recognition. In 1945, Captain Feathers was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for "extraordinary achievement." He also received the Battle Star and Presidential Unit Citation during his war service. Following WWII, Edward joined the U.S. Air Force as a commissioned officer in which he served with distinction for the next 22 years. He served in both the Training Air Command and the Strategic Air Command. In 1959, he commanded base operations at Fletcher's Ice Island (T-3) in the Baltic Sea to support geophysical investigations conducted by the U. S. Geological Survey. He is preceded in death by his wife of 54 years, his daughter Beverly Jean Feathers, his niece Beverly Hampton and nephew James Hampton; survived by his sister, Mary Nelle Hampton (Montgomery, AL.); by his daughters, Susan Lee Feathers and Kathryn Ann Johansen (Pensacola), Barbara Gaye Feathers (Brooklyn, NY); by his grandchildren Thomas James Williams (Thompson Station, TN), Heather Brooke Hufton (Virginia Beach, VA), Jennifer Acierno Theisen (Orange Park, FL), Nathan Feathers George (Jersey City, NJ), Amelia Feathers George (Brooklyn, NY), and Liberty Marshall Johansen (Pensacola); by his great grandchildren Raleigh James Theisen and Millicent Beverly Theisen (Orange Park, Fl); by his nephews Glenn Hampton (Whitehall, NY), Wade Hampton (London, England), Geoffrey Hampton (Knoxville, TN), Bill Hampton (Washington, DC); by his niece Dr. Mary Hampton (Montgomery, AL), and by his cousin Carol Blevins (Watauga, TN). Our father was an exceptional human being who raised us with firmness and love becoming our children's hero and friend. In the last ten years he became "Dad" to the daughters of his deceased gunner, Master Sgt. Matthew Moore, on his email chat group where he delivered daily wisdom and political rants with irrepressible humor. He loved a good pipe, feeding birds and battling squirrels; a glass of wine and Mozart or Beethoven in the afternoon; he recited poetry he learned as a youth in the little country school near his family's small farm. He graced our lives and left us an enduring legacy. Dad is the last of the Greatest Generation war veterans in our family. We are lost without him, but he gave us wise counsel for the road ahead. A military service will be held for family and friends on December 24, 2012 at 12:30 p.m. at Barrancas National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to Veterans of Foreign Wars. Special thanks to Covenant Hospice and the medical team at West Florida Regional Hospital for their adept and compassionate care. A very special thank you from our family is made to Dr. Mark Boatright and his staff for years of excellent care and genuine love for our father.