MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. -- Though they were all experienced warriors, few World War II aces also went on to become Korean War aces.Of those to successfully make the transition from propeller fighters to jets, one pilot was a Marine. In addition to being the Marine Corps' first double ace, Lt. Col. John "Jack" F. Bolt Jr., lived a remarkable life as a Marine aviator, and later as a prosperous civilian attorney and family man.He was born May 19, 1921, in the small-town American charm of Laurens, S.C. His family later relocated to Sanford, Fla., where he grew up. With just a couple years of college under his belt, Bolt joined the Marines in 1941, ready to serve his country as a pilot.After graduating from flight school and becoming a Naval aviator in August 1942, Bolt became an instructor before shipping off to the island of Espiritu Santo in June 1943. Like other Marines there, he would fight not just the Japanese, but also the elements of the Pacific Rim, pesky insects, reptiles and various difficulties.In 1943, he served with what is arguably one of the most famous Marine fighter squadrons to ever fly into the deadly jaws of aerial combat - the Black Sheep of Marine Fighter Squadron 214.During World War II as a member of VMF-214 - a unit whose reputation for unorthodox behavior both on the ground and in the air was rivaled only by their deadly combat prowess - Bolt "splashed" Japanese planes and garnered high praise for his attacks on enemy shipping.In his acclaimed book "The Black Sheep," author Bruce Gamble writes of Bolt's account of how he drew fire from the unit's courageous and charismatic leader Pappy Boyington. On Oct. 16, Bolt was flying a long F4U Corsair fighter sweep mission led by Boyington over Kahili's Tonolei Harbor. Seeing the harbor filled with Japanese ships, Boyington ordered that no one shoot at the tempting targets below and led his Marines back to the island of Vella Lavella in the Solomon Islands.In defiance of orders, Bolt flew back to Tonolei and proceeded to shoot up the enemy barges and cargo ships, leaving them in flames and his CO "pissed.""Boyington never (softened) up to me much after that," recalled Bolt.But Admiral William F. Halsey, Jr., commander of the Pacific Fleet, was pleased with Bolt and lauded his "one-man war" accomplishment.Convinced that the Marine aircraft ammunition could be more effective given the relative lightweight of Japanese aircraft, Bolt thought that belting more incendiary rounds with a few tracers in the machine guns would be most effective. He put his innovative theory to the test, shooting at practice targets and was confident that he was right. With other squadrons adopting his modifications, more Japanese planes started going down, but incendiary rounds quickly became in short supply.By the end of the war, after two tours with the Black Sheep, Bolt shot down six Japanese planes to earn the title Marine ace, but for him the end of the war did not mean the end of what was proving to be a fine Marine Corps career as an aviator.Following World War II, he was a member of another F4U squadron, VMF-452, setting an endurance record of 14 hours and seven seconds for Corsairs using standard drop tanks. He then held a staff job with Marine Aircraft Group 13 and a position with an aviation maintenance school at Quantico, Va., until he was assigned to VMF-224 flying the new F2H-2 Banshee jet at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C.Bolt recognized his warrior spirit and was eager to stand up to the MiGs over Korea."I chose an Air Force exchange tour of duty because at that point, the only thing standing up to the MiGs were the F-86s," recalled Bolt in a 1991 interview. "I knew that none were coming to the Marine Corps ... I was anxious to get back into the air-to-air fight, and the only possibility of doing that was by getting into an F-86 squadron. The MiGs were beating the hell out of anything else."Bolt accumulated many hours in early jets, including the F-86 Sabre. He made friends with another future Korean War ace, Air Force Capt. Joseph McConnell, as a part of the exchange program and learned much from him. "I could talk for hours about his tactics," said Bolt of McConnell, who perished during a test flight at Edwards Air Force Base shortly after the war. "He was very deserving of the fame he had."Over the cold skies of Korea 10 years after his time with the Black Sheep in the Solomon Islands, Bolt flew his Sabre - nicknamed "Darling Dottie" after his wife - honing his dog fighting skills that would again earn him the ace designation.Within the span of three months, Bolt shot down six Russian-built MiG-15s - his last two kills were July 11, 1953, near the Yalu River - and became the first and only Marine ace of both World War II and the Korean War.After Korea, Bolt served at the Pentagon's Bureau of Aeronautics and completed his Bachelor's degree awarded by the University of Maryland in 1956. After working at the Senior School of Amphibious Warfare at Quantico, Va., he spent three years with the 1st Marine Brigade at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii, during which he commanded his old squadron VMF-214 for almost two years.In 1962, after 20 years with the Corps, Bolt retired from service. He then returned to Florida and attended law school at the University of Florida at the same time as his son, going on to practice real estate law in a small-town office for 20 years until he retired in 1991.In the twilight years of his life, Bolt attended several VMF-214 reunions, including one in Abita Springs, Calif., in November 2000, and another in 1993 in New Orleans, described as the "Golden Gathering" by author Robert T. Reed in his book Lost Black Sheep. There he met fellow Black Sheep comrades from the past and saluted his friends."To our fallen comrades whose bones rest on the bottom of the sea in the Solomon Islands, cut down in the bloom of youth, denied the pleasures of life, which by chance, the rest of us have enjoyed," said Bolt, his words moving everyone. "Last to our beloved Marine Corps. We all knew when we put on the forest green uniform that it would ask us to put our lives at risk, which it did, and it would give us only pride and self respect, which it has."More than 10 years later in 2004, soon after Hurricane Frances made landfall and slammed into Florida, Bolt passed away Sept. 14 at his New Smyrna, Fla., home. He was 83 years old and lost his battle with leukemia, leaving behind a wife of 60 years, children and grandchildren. Bolt was one of the last surviving double aces and an American legend of Marine Corps aviation.