Jack Gentry

Jack T. Gentry (December 6, 1923 – September 23, 2006) was an American soldier, engineer, and entrepreneur.. He was the founder and former president of Positronic, a manufacturing company based in Springfield, Missouri.

Early life Gentry was born on December 6, 1923, in Kansas City, Kansas, to Rose Adlesh and Dewey Gentry. Jack attended high school at Wyandotte High School. He attended Kansas City Junior College (now Metropolitan Community College in Missouri). A day after his 18th birthday, Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Imperial Japanese Navy; he then decided to enlist in United States Navy.

Military career

World War II Knowing that his future plans would be altered by the war, Gentry decided to enlist in the United States Navy. He volunteered to serve in the V-5 Naval Aviation Program in June 1942. He was trained as a civilian pilot for two months in Maryville, Missouri. After the two-month training period, he was ordered to attend boot camp training in Athens, Georgia. This lasted 16 weeks. After that, Gentry was transferred to Norman, Oklahoma, for three additional months of training. He completed his training in Corpus Christi, Texas, and began serving as a naval aviator with the United States Marine Corps. His first assignment was in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, where he trained as a torpedo bombing pilot. He was then assigned to Goleta near Santa Barbara, California, joining a squadron of torpedo bombers in preparation for an overseas assignment. His final assignment was in the South Pacific and he was eventually released from active duty in January 1945 as a first lieutenant. On a flight from Los Angeles to New York City, Gentry met business manager and philanthropist Harry Gray. Four months later, Gray called Gentry and offered him a job with Litton Industries in Van Nuys, California. Within three years, Gentry was promoted to general manager and then Executive Vice President. He took responsibility over three units of Litton Industries, namely the United States Engineering Company, Winchester Electronics, and Advanced Circuitry Division. He also pioneered Litton's effort to establish a plant in Springfield, Missouri.

Feeling that he needed to explore other opportunities, he decided to leave Litton Industries and create his own company. By October 1966, he had founded Positronic, in Springfield, Missouri and initially, the company manufactured electronic components and connectors for the aerospace industry. Gentry's company recovered from the incident and later expanded overseas.

Gentry also served as a director of UMB Financial Corporation, and a board trustee member of Drury University. He also founded the Southwest Area Manufacturers Association in 1995, where he also served as president, former committee chairman of Electronic Industries Association, and a former secretary of International Electrotechnical Commission. He was also appointed by President Ronald Reagan as a member of the Industry Sector Advisory Committee V. Gentry was also a recipient of numerous commendations for his military service. A "Jack Gentry Day" was proclaimed in Springfield in honor of him.