Colonel (Retired) Melvin ‘Mel’ Bryant was a fighter pilot who served during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. He was born in Hiawatha, Kansas in 1924 and spent his childhood working on family farms and in his father’s grocery store. Despite his farming roots, Mel...
Col “Bubba” Jenny entered the Air Force in 1964. During his 28-year career as a fighter pilot, Bubba flew over 5,000 hours in 10 different aircraft including the F-100, A-7, A-10, F-16, and F-117. Bubba was one of the few Misty pilots of Vietnam and, like many of his...
Maj Gen Donald W. Shepperd was born in San Antonio, TX in 1940 and graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1962. After graduation and pilot training, he was assigned to a fighter squadron in West Germany. After five years in the Air Force, Shepperd deployed to...
Colonel Raymond F. Toliver, test pilot and military historian, has flown over 225 types of aircraft and accumulated over 9,000 hours during 28 years of service to his country. Born in Fort Collins, Colorado, he attended Colorado State University before joining the US...
LeRoy J. Manor is a combat veteran of World War II and the Vietnam War, and accumulated over 6,500 flight hours in fighter aircraft. He is best known for commanding the Joint Contingency Task Group that conducted Operation Ivory Coast and Operation Kingpin in 1970,...
Ronald R. Fogleman, a native of Lewistown, Pennsylvania, began his Air Force career by earning an appointment to the United States Air Force Academy. After graduating in 1963, he earned his pilot wings at Vance AFB, Oklahoma, and then became a Cessna T-37...
Captain Joe H. Engle was first selected by Air Command and Staff College’s Gathering of Eagles in 1983 and subsequently honored in 1987, 1989, 1995, 1997, and 2001, respectively. Engle became America’s youngest astronaut on 29 June 1965, at age 32, after...
Brigadier General George E. “Bud” Day was first selected as an Eagle by Air Command and Staff College’s Gathering of Eagles in 1992 and subsequently honored in 2001, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2013 respectively. He was born in Iowa in...
