H.F. "Doc" Manget, Jr.

H.F. "Doc" Manget, Jr.. With the onset of World War II, Henry F. Doc Manget, Jr., interrupted his medical training at Emory University to enlist in the Navy. Assigned to the newly constructed Naval Reserve Aviation Base at this site, he began primary flight training on 12 December 1941, five days after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Receiving his wings at NAS Jacksonville, he served two combat tours in the southwest Pacific flying TMB Avengers F6F Hellcats, and F4& Corsairs from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, and various aircraft carriers. His squadron, VT-27, was operating from the USS Princeton when she was sunk by enemy action durign the greatest naval engagement in history, the Battle of Leyte Gulf on 24 October 1944., Maintaining his Naval Reserve flight status at NAS Atlanta, "Doc" was recalled to active duty during the Korean War and served as executive officer of Fighter Squadron 72 flying F9F "Panther" jets over North Korea from the USS Bon Homme Richard. He was awarded three distinguished Flying Crosses in two wars., Returning to Atlanta in 1959, and the field where he first soloed eighteen years earlier, "Doc" became the first director of the DeKalb Peachtree Airport when NAS Atlanta was relocated to Dobbins AFB, Marietta, GA. Under his leadership, numerous airport improvements, including a 5,000-foot-long concrete runway, instrument landing system (LS), and development of the North Terminal are, Doc paved the way for PDK Airport to become the second busiest airport in Georgia., To this day, the airport contributes heavily to the economic growth of DeKalb County and has become a national showcase for general aviation. Since 1978, the airport has been a self-sustaining county department receiving no general fund tax monies for its operation., "Doc" Manget served as President of the Southeastern Airport Managers Association and as Director of the American Association of Airport Executives and in 1985 was recognized with the public service award presented by the Atlanta Newspapers. He retired in April 1990 following thirty-one years of dedicated service to DeKalb County on 16 May 1998. Captain Manget, a leader for aviation in war and peace, was enshrined in the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame.