James Ralph Spletstoser
July 02, 1927 - August 21, 2016
Cochran, GA – James "Tony the Old tiger" Spletstoser, age 89, died Sunday, August 21, 2016, in Fairview Park Hospital in Dublin, GA.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, August 27, 2016 at 11:00 A.M. at Mathis Funeral Home with visitation from 9:30 until time for the service at the funeral home. Burial will be private.
Mr. Spletstoser is survived by his children; Yva L'Heureux, Kathryn Spletstoser, James Spletstoser, Anton Spletstoser, Nicola Spletstoser, Hai Spletstoser, and step-son Phouc Huynh (Jimmy) as well as his 15 grandchildren. He is predeceased by his wives, Hoa Kim Huynh, Frances Crockett and beloved daughter Nicole.
James AKA “Tony the Tiger” Spletstoser was a veteran of World War II, having enlisted in the United States Navy at the age of 17.
He served in the United States Navy from 1943 to 1946 as an electrician's mate aboard an LST in the Pacific Theater of Operations.
After the war he worked as a radio and TV repairman in Florida.
In the 1950s and early 60s he worked for the government in Alaska, helping to setup the microwave communications system to improve communications throughout the state. He worked in Grand Bahama on communication systems used by NASA during the early days of the space program. After returning to Florida, he was an employee of the Telephone Company, where he made many lifelong friends.
He then worked in Vietnam for four years doing various jobs ranging from an aviation mechanic
to battle damage assessment photographer for Aberdeen Proving Grounds.
During this time he became associated with several aviation units including the 135th Assault Helicopter Co. (the EMUs) and D Troop 3/5th D/ Light Horse.
In 1972 he returned to the United States and worked in avionics at Robins Air Force Base where he continued to work for 43 years before retiring at the age of 85.
In his free time, James was an avid outdoors-man. He enjoyed hunting and fishing in and around his 100 acre farm.
He was also an aviator and had owned and flown a number aircraft over the years ranging from 45 hp ultralights to a 2000 hp war-bird.
His pride and joy was an F4U Corsair, which now resides at Pensacola Naval Aviation Museum.
He loved telling stories. He often talked about how his high school, West Palm Beach High School, had many famous people graduate from it including; George Hamilton, Chris Noel, and Burt Reynolds. He took a shop class there and they had surplus P-39 Air-Cobras to work on as projects.
These airplanes are now worth millions of dollars, and he and his classmates would see who could really wreck an engine.
Much of his high school career he admits he didn't take studying seriously, he was, as he put it, “More interested in chasing skirts than reading books.”
He would tell us of the many times “someone was looking out for him,” such as when he drove over an improvised land mine in Vietnam and it didn't explode.
Or when he crashed an airplane in a canal near his home in Florida and came out without a scratch.
Then, again in Vietnam, a cafe he was in was bombed by the VC, but instead of landing on the veranda where he was sitting the tossed bomb bounced off the railing and fell back into the street below. He told us of the friends he had made and the friends he had lost in the aviation units he worked with.
Stories of his travels to Singapore, Hong Kong, and Tokyo. His life read like an adventure novel and he loved to share his experiences.
His greatest joy was watching his family and friends enjoy the outdoors at the family farm.
Leaving behind years worth of fond memories of hunting and fishing for many family and friends.
He was an active man and had already planned to hunt this coming deer season, but from a ground blind instead of a tree stand as he had up to last year.
He loved dogs and would tell us about his favorites he had owned over the years.
He also loved horses, and though he no longer rode them he still owned and cared for five of them.
He loved and was loved by many and will be missed.
A few photos of Tony