Roll Call Tribute

Lt. Joel Korkowski '94 died in October 2002 during a training exercise off the coast of Lemoore, California. He was 30. 

After graduating from Clear Lake High School, Korkowski attended the United States Naval Academy for two years before enrolling at Texas A&M University. He graduated with his bachelor's in Aerospace Engineering in 1996. 

While at A&M, he was president of the local chapter of American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics; he had dreams of one day being an astronaut.

"He wanted to be one of the first people to do a mission to Mars," said Joel's widow, Kristin Korkowski Darlington '95. "He was really involved with the aerospace engineering program on campus and with [AIAA in particular]. He went to football games and loved all the traditions."  

He commissioned as a naval officer in 1996 and flew from the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise. He flew F-14 Tomcats and was involved in operations Southern Watch and Enduring Freedom. 

His squadron, VFA-41, the Black Aces, came back from deployment to Lemorre Naval Air Station in California to transition from flying F-14 Tomcats to F/A-18 Super Hornets when he was involved in a training accident; his fighter collided with another jet.

He amassed over 1,020 total flight hours and 225 arrested landings. His commendations include The Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal with Combat Distinguishing Device, the Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal and various unit and campaign awards. 

"He just was a really amazing man of integrity and had a very noble character," Kristin said. "He loved people and he loved the Lord and he just really loved to fly and could not imagine why anyone would want to do anything else than be in a plane flying across the sky."

Kristin was pregnant with their first child, Skyler, at the time of Joel's passing.

__________________________________________________________

The below was originally published by the Houston Chronicle. 

Missing Navy pilot had Clear Lake ties
Tragically followed in father's footsteps
By Allan Turner Published 5:30 am, Tuesday, October 22, 2002

Fighter pilot James Korkowski moved to Clear Lake to work for NASA, where he hoped to become an astronaut.

Although cancer cut Korkowski's dream short in 1986, his son, Joel A. Korkowski, followed in his father's footsteps, becoming a Navy fighter pilot.

But like his father, Joel Korkowski died young. Korkowski, 30, is presumed dead after his F/A-18F Super Hornet fighter collided with another jet off the California coast Friday.

Korkowski, a 1990 Clear Lake High School graduate, was among four naval officers killed during an air combat exercise involving eight fighters off Lemoore, Calif. The U.S. Coast Guard called off its search for survivors Saturday.

"He was one of the Navy's achievers," said Frank Marlow, a NASA pilot and Korkowski family friend. "Maybe he was a future astronaut, I don't know. He had been accepted in a master's program for aerospace engineering and in test pilot school. He was being groomed for something higher."

Korkowski, who flew F-14 fighters in combat missions over Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, was a member of Strike Fighter Squadron 41, stationed at Lemoore Naval Air Station near Fresno, Calif.

"He was absolutely one of the finest young men that I ever knew," said Rita Johnson, a history teacher at Clear Lake High. "He played football and was instrumental in the lives of his friends. He was very genuine. A loving, kind young man."

The Rev. Chris Yates, senior pastor at Bay Area Presbyterian Church, said Korkowski spent summers working at a Christian youth camp in Colorado.

"He had a love for Christ," said Yates, who first met Korkowski when he attended Texas A&M University. "He had a love for other students. When he was at A&M, I asked him what he wanted to do and he said, `I want to fly jets.' "

Yates said he last saw Korkowski about three months ago, when the pilot passed through Clear Lake on his way to his new assignment in California.

"He was very excited," Yates said. "He had flown over Afghanistan in the F-14s. He was getting retrained in some new technology. These new jets were faster and were able to do more. That's why he was moving."

Korkowski graduated from A&M in 1994 with a degree in aerospace engineering. He also spent two years at the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Md., Marlow said, but resigned.

"For some reason, the shipboard life was not for him," Marlow said. "At first I thought, `Oh, God, what a disappointment.' But he starred."

Korkowski's father, who died of Hodgkin's disease at age 38, had been a pilot for the Illinois National Guard and the Federal Aviation Administration before joining NASA.

"He wanted to be an astronaut so bad his tongue hung out to the floor," Marlow said of the elder Korkowski. "In fact, they asked me to write a recommendation for him. He was high-minded. He was like a Boy Scout, clean-cut all the way. Devoted to his family and to flying. Yes, he wanted to be an astronaut, but the competition is tough, and he didn't make it."

Instead, James Korkowski flew T-38 astronaut-training jets and WB-57F high-altitude aircraft. Upon his death, NASA created the "James A. Korkowski Excellence in Achievement Award," presented annually to an outstanding NASA employee.

The library in Rantoul, Ill., the elder Korkowski's hometown, has created an archive of his papers and flight memorabilia.

The Korkowski family, contacted at their California home Monday, declined to comment on Joel Korkowski's death.

Survivors include his wife, whose name was not available; his brother, Luke Korkowski, of Washington, D.C.; his mother, Sarah Korkowski, of Rushville, Ill.; and grandfather, Don Korkowski, of Peoria, Ariz.

Yates said Korkowski's wife is pregnant with their first child.

__________________________________________________________

The Association was notified of this Aggie's passing on 11/26/2002.