John Curtis Burn
John Curtis Burn was born on February 19, 1919. After a childhood in Atlanta and Colorado, John attended the University of Chattanooga and lived with his mother's relatives in Chattanooga. He also received training as a pilot and was hired by Pan American Airlines in 1943. During the war years he flew various flights to and within Europe. He was co-pilot on a USO flight in February of 1943 that crashed into the Tagus River at Lisbon, Portugal. Out of approximately 39 passengers only 15 survived including Jane Froman a popular singer in the 1940's and early 50's. Although both John and Jane were severely injured, John managed to fashion a makeshift raft from portions of the wreckage to help keep them afloat. After being rescued they were sent to the same convalescent home where they battled their long recoveries together. Five years after the crash they would be married in Florida. Their marriage was highly publicized and documented in the book "Say it with Music" by Barbara Seuling and also in the movie "With A Song in my Heart" starring Rory Calhoun as John Burn and Susan Hayward as Jane. John and Jane's wedding would unfortunately end in divorce in 1956. John would gone on to marry Charlene Hargrove, a psychiatrist, former model and New York Summer Festival Queen. They were together until John's passing in 2009. After some 36 years John retired from Pan Am in 1979 as a 747 Captain running international flights. Following his retirement from Pan Am he received from NYU a Master's Degree in Social Work. He and an associate then formed the first fear of flying clinic. John passed on 7 Feb 2009, age 89.