Captain John Young is a 42-year NASA veteran, astronaut, and Moon walker with six space flights spanning the Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle programs. Young was born in San Francisco, California in 1930 and graduated from high school in Orlando, Florida. Young...
Colonel Loisel was a true American Hero. With over 300 missions in World War II’s Pacific Theater, Colonel Loisel spent more than 3 consecutive years in combat–longer than any other US pilot. Born in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and raised in Norfolk,...
Joe M. Jackson flew for his country in three wars! As a youth in Newnan, Georgia, Jackson was an avid model airplane enthusiast. After graduation from high school, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and, when the United States entered World War II, he became a crew...
Alexander Jefferson was born on 15 November 1921 in Detroit, Michigan. He graduated from Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia in June 1942 with a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and biology. While working toward a master’s degree in chemistry from Howard...
Commander Kenny Fields’ naval career spanned 22 years from 1962 until 1984. Born in Lex, West Virginia, in 1940, He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in English at the Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tennessee in 1962. Following school, he entered the...
Maj Gen Gregory A. Feest was first selected by Air Command and Staff College’s Gathering of Eagles in 2010 and subsequently honored in 2017. “Beast” Feest has the unique distinction of having dropped the first bombs in two different operations: Operation...
Billy G. Edens was born 21 January 1923 in Cassville, Missouri and grew up in Tyronza, Arkansas. He joined the Army Air Corps on 27 June 1942 upon graduation from high school. He was accepted as an aviation cadet in May, 1943 and attended flight training in Alabama....
Colonel (ret.) Charles B. “Chuck” DeBellevue is America’s top ace of the Vietnam War and the last ace to serve on active duty in the United States Air Force. Colonel DeBellvue was first selected as an Eagle by Air Command and Staff College’s...
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...
Violet Thurn Cowden, “Vi”, courageously served her nation during WWII with the Women Airforce Service Pilots (W.A.S.P.). She served from early 1943 until the W.A.S.P. were disbanded in December 1944. As the pilot of nineteen different aircraft including...
Chief Warrant Officer 5 David F. Cooper, a Cincinnati, Ohio area native, volunteered for military service in March 1985. After completing Basic Training at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, he attended the Warrant Officer Basic Course and Army Flight School at Fort...
Charles G. “Chick” Cleveland was born in 1927 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York in 1945. Graduating in 1949, he chose to become an aviator and earned his pilot wings at Williams AFB, Arizona. He was...
Colonel John Carney, lovingly known as “Coach” throughout the Special Operations community, is a living legend within Special Operations. He is a graduate of the University of Arizona. The “Coach” launched his Air Force career at the US Air...
General James F. Amos graduated from the University of Idaho in 1965. Early on, Amos knew he wanted to be Marine pilot, and in 1970 he was commissioned through the Reserve Officer Training Corps. Earning his wings in 1971, he was posted to an F-4 Phantom II squadron...
