H. F. (Doc) Manget

Retired U.S. Navy Reserve Capt. Henry F.  Doc? Manget Jr., a heavily decorated World War II fighter pilot, a member of the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame and long-time director of the DeKalb-Peachtree Airport, died Thursday, July 8, after a serious illness. He was 82.  Born in Atlanta in 1921, Doc Manget spent over 35 years in civil aviation and 40 years as an aviator in the Navy Reserve. He began his career in December 1941 at the U.S. Naval Air Base in Chamblee, Ga., where he soloed in February 1942. He received his commission and aviator?s wings in October 1942 and reported to Torpedo Squadron 27 aboard the carrier USS Suwanee in early 1943. He flew from Henderson Field, Guadalcanal, during the Solomons campaign and joined Air Group 27 on the USS Princeton (CVL 23), where he flew TBM Avenger torpedo bombers in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, the Great Marianas Turkey Shoot, and the Battle of Leyte Gulf, as well as strikes on Saipan, Palau, the Philippines, Okinawa and Formosa. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross for saving the lives of two downed pilots while flying on a search and rescue mission. At the Battle of Leyte Gulf, his carrier was sunk by Japanese action. He jumped from the flight deck and was picked up later that day by a destroyer.  After World War II, Doc Manget graduated from the University of Georgia and flew F6F Hellcats and F4U Corsairs in the Reserves as the Commanding Officer of Fighter Squadron 674. When the Navy converted to jets, Captain Manget flew the early Navy jet fighter, the F9F Panther. He was recalled to active duty at the beginning of the Korean War and spent nine months as the Executive Officer of Fighter Squadron 72 aboard the USS Bon Homme Richard, flying Panthers against North Korean targets. He later became a test pilot for the Navy at McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis.  His combat decorations include three Distinguished Flying Crosses, five Air Medals, two Presidential Unit Citations and numerous campaign medals and ribbons.  He began his civilian aviation career as the Assistant Manager of El Paso International Airport in 1954. In 1959, he became the first director of DeKalb-Peachtree Airport in Chamblee, and was responsible for converting it from an abandoned naval air station (the same one where he had learned to fly in 1942) to a showcase of general aviation. During his tenure, aircraft based at DeKalb-Peachtree increased from six to 352, and flight operations grew from a few dozen a year to more than 254,000, making the airport the second busiest in the state after Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport.  On May 16, 1998, he was enshrined in the Georgia Aviation Hall of Fame, located at the Museum of Aviation at Robins Air Force Base.  Doc Manget was a past president of the Southeastern Airport Managers Association and a member of the board of directors of the American Association of Airport Executives and of the Metropolitan Atlanta Airports Council. He was a member of the Georgia Airports Association, the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association, the Silver Wings and the Quiet Birdmen. He was a recipient of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Community Service Award. Manget was a member of Oak Grove United Methodist Church since 1959.  Survivors include his beloved wife of 57 years, Toy Watkins Manget; a brother, Victor and Sue Manget of Decatur; sons Fred and Lesle Manget of Potomac Falls, Va., Tom and Debbie Manget and John and Kim Manget, all of Conyers; grandchildren, Luke, Daniel, Helen, Callie, Will and Koy Manget, all of Conyers, GA, and Felice, Caroline and Jonathan Manget, all of Potomac Falls, VA; and numerous nieces and nephews.  Services will be at Turner Funeral Home in Decatur at 4 p.m. on Sunday. Interment Floral Hills Memory Gardens. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to The United Methodist Children?s Home, 500 S. Columbia Drive, Decatur, GA 30030 or Odyssey Hospice at Decatur Hospital. The family will receive friends from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. Saturday at A. S. Turner & Sons.