Col Tilton Laid to Rest at Arlington

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Col. John Tilton, a former member Civil Air Patrol's Board of Governors and former commander of the organization's Southeast Region and Alabama Wing, was laid to rest with full honors March 1 at Arlington National Cemetery.

Tilton's family - including his wife, Col. Becky Tilton, government relations adviser for the Mississippi Wing - and numerous CAP colleagues were present to see the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard) caisson platoon accompany his remains to the burial site. Interment followed a three-volley salute.

At the time of his death, Tilton, 65, was the Mississippi Wing's safety officer. He was killed Nov. 13 along with two other Mississippi Wing members - Lt. Col. David Williams, 69, the wing's standardization/evaluation officer, and Capt. William C. Young, 78, finance officer for the Maj. James McKinnie Composite Squadron - when their Piper A-32 crashed shortly after taking off from Hawkins Field Airport in Jackson.

 

Tilton served as Alabama Wing commander from April 2002-February 2006 and as Southeast Region commander from February-October 2006, then as national safety officer from October 2006-December 2007.

He served as an at-large member of the Board of Governors from August 2007-November 2009. He became the Mississippi Wing's safety officer in June 2011. He was an experienced aviator, having flown as a helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army, from which he retired as a lieutenant colonel. He held FAA qualifications as a certified flight instructor. -CAP