Jon "Brad" Hittle

Jon B. Hittle, 71, of Sioux City, IA, passed away December 14, 2022. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held Tuesday, December 20th at 10:00 a.m. at St. Boniface Catholic Church. Visitation is one hour prior to the service, with a rosary at 9:45 a.m., all at the church. Burial will be at Memorial Park Cemetery at 1:00 p.m. Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel is handling the arrangements. Online condolences may be made to www.meyerbroschapels.com. Jon B. E. Hittle was born January 29, 1951 in Sioux City, Iowa, the son of James N. and Grace M. (Lukes) Hittle. He attended Heelan High School and graduated in 1969. Following graduation, he attended Briar Cliff University, earning his B.A. in History in 1973. He then attended Louisiana State University, earning his M.A. in European Intellectual History and Political Theory in 1976. While awaiting appointment to Federal service, he worked in staff positions for Western Iowa Tech and Woodbury County from 1977 to early 1979. On March 23, 1979, he married Barbara Jean Flick in Sioux City. To this union, 2 children were born. In April of the same year, he joined the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) as a Military Analyst and held that position until March 1991, serving in war zones in Southeast Asian and Central American. During the Persian Gulf War, he served as a Liaison Officer to General Norman Schwarzkopf’s Joint Intelligence Staff with US Central Command, Forward (CENTCOM-Forward J2) in Saudi Arabia. He transferred to the Clandestine Service in 1991 and went on to serve as an Operations Officer in Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, and the Mid-East, focusing on counterterrorism, counterproliferation and Special Operations. After 9-11-01, he was assigned to manage special programs supporting US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. After retirement in 2009, he worked as an Agency contractor until 2011, serving as a field liaison Case Officer, with various US Army, Marine Corps combat commands and with Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) elements. Mr. Hittle received numerous awards during his career, notably the National Intelligence Medal of Achievement, the CIA Intelligence Medal of Merit, and CIA Iraq Operations Medal, the CIA Career Service Medal, two Meritorious Unit Citations, and 10 Individual citations, as well as the National Defense Service Medal and the US Coast Guard Commendation ribbon. He was a member of the United States Coast Guard Reserve, serving on active duty at various periods as a Boarding Officer in the Fifth District, and twice with the US Coast Guard Intelligence Coordination Center in Washington D.C from 1986 to 1994. He was also a member of the Association of Former Intelligence Officers (AFIO); China Post #1 of the American Legion; and the Thailand-Laos-Cambodian Brotherhood (TLC), and belonged to St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Tabor, SD. He lived in many cities in his lifetime including Sioux City, Baton Rouge, LA, Falls Church, VA, Damascus, MA, and Scotland, SD. Following government service, he and his spouse relocated to a horse ranch in South Dakota, where he focused much of his attention on writing books on intelligence and military subjects and working as a Private Investigator licensed in Iowa and South Dakota, specializing in litigation support. Raised in a musical family, he was a talented musician, performing on double bass at various times with Jazz, Blues, and Bluegrass ensembles in Sioux City, Louisiana, New York, and the Baltimore-Washington D.C. region. Those left to honor his memory are wife, Barbara Jean Hittle of Scotland, SD; children Jan E. (Ben) Holmes of Lesterville, SD and Jamie M. (T.J.)Hittle, and their son William; brother Peter K. (Nancy) Hittle of Geismar, LA; brothers-in-law Robert (Sharon) Flick of Sioux City, Ronald Flick of West Union, IA; nephews Russell Flick of Sioux City, Randy Flick of Sioux Falls, SD, Shelby Flick of Sioux City, Matthew (Taylor) Hittle of Washington D.C., Donald (Theresa) Flick of Rancho Santa Margarita, CA; nieces Shelly Flick-Rodenberg of Underwood, IA, and Anna (Tom) Schieb of Baton Rouge, LA, Rhonda (Ed) Betsworth of Cedar Rapids, IA. He was preceded in death by his parents, older brother, Steve, and sister-in-law, Donna Sue Flick.