Ramon Colon-Lopez lives by the quote, “if you want to fly with the eagles, don’t hang around with the turkeys.” Following this maxim, CMSgt Colon-Lopez has rapidly risen through the enlisted ranks. He was born to Vilma and Ramon Colon-Torres on 21...
Wesley WellsWesley Wells was a B-17 Flying Fortress Ball Turret Gunner with the most decorated Bombardment Group of the 8th Air Force in World War II. Born in Phoenix, Arizona, he was introduced to target-shooting at an early age and had won a national level...
Bud Traynor Bud Traynor answered President Ford’s call when he lead a crew of 24 in the evacuation of orphans from South Vietnam during Operation BABYLIFT’s first official mission. On that fateful day in April 1975, an aircraft malfunction rendered...
Raymond “Donk” Strasburger Raymond “Donk” Strasburger led a 2-ship of A-10 Thunderbolt IIs – better known as “Warthogs” – during the Battle for Baghdad in Operation IRAQI FREEDOM. He and his wingman destroyed major...
Donald J. StraitDonald J. Strait enlisted in 1940 in the 119th Observation Squadron of the New Jersey National Guard. He started as an armorer and moved up to become an aerial gunner in the two-seater O-46 and O-47 observation planes. In early 1942, he qualified as an...
Stanton R. MusserStanton R. Musser was an Air Force pioneer and exceptional leader. Within a military career spanning 31 years and experiences ranging from Thunderbird pilot to military advisor in Egypt, he accumulated 4,500 hours flying F-4s, F-15s, F-100s, and O-1s....
Frank MurrayFrank Murray was one of only six pilots to fly the A-12 for the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) legendary Oxcart program. Frank Murray was born into an Army family on 21 September 1930, the son of a professional Army soldier and an Army nurse,...
Colonel Charles E. McGee is one of three original Tuskegee fighter pilots to have fought during World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. He completed 409 fighter combat missions, the highest three-war fighter mission total of any aviator in the history of the United States...
Pearl Brummett JuddPearl Brummett Judd was one of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) during World War II. She was born in the Texas Panhandle at the Brummett 2B Ranch on 21 July l922, the only child of Irby and Alta Brummett. When she was about seven, her...
“Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce to you Bob Hoover, the greatest stick-and-rudder pilot who ever lived.” That airshow introduction from General “Jimmy” Doolittle only scratches the surface of the military and civilian career of someone...
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...
James H. Flatley IIIJim Flatley entered aviation history in October 1963 as a U.S. Navy test pilot. As the Flight Test Carrier Suitability Project Pilot, he piloted the largest aircraft ever to land upon an aircraft carrier. Flatley was born in San Diego, California...
Scott FalesScott Fales was the lead pararescueman on Blackhawk “Super Six-Eight” during the 1993 Mogadishu battle. Born in Hagerstown, Maryland, Fales enlisted in March 1977 and served three years as a Security Policeman. He would become a Pararescueman in...
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...
Richard “Dick” Cole was Jimmy Doolittle’s copilot on the first bomber to launch from the USS Hornet, during the famous Tokyo Raid. Born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1915, Dick Cole enlisted in the Army on 22 November 1940. He was accepted into the Army Air...
Robert “Danny” BergRobert “Danny” Berg was the lead critical care nurse on the rescue mission of John Solecki, the only American hostage rescued alive from Pakistan since 2000. Berg was born in Hollywood, California, to Charles and Marilee...
