USAFA Class Heritage

Charles "Chuck" Bush was one of the first three African American cadets to graduate from the United States Air Force Academy with the Class of 1963, along with classmates Ike Payne (632585) and Roger Sims (633065). All three were honored at the Way of Life ceremony at the class's 40th reunion.

Resigned Capt Air Force:

D: 05 Nov 2012;

07: Retired;

05-07: President Ant Hill Ventures LLC CA (California);

00-05: CFO Traffic station Corp;

96-00: President & CEO (Chief Executive Officer) Fones4AII;

94-96: V-Pres (President) (Vice President) BusDev GM Hughes Electronics Corp;

87-94: ExV-Pres Allied Cellular Sys lnc;

85-87: ExDir Greenberg Glusker Fields Claman&Machtinger Los Angeles CA;

83-85: V-PresFin&C FinO ICN Pharmaceuticalslnc CovinaCA;

78-83: V-Pres (President) (Vice President)&Treasurer/CorpContr MaxFactorCo Hollywood CA;

75: AsstTreasurer CelaneseCorp Maplewood NJ;

74: Mgr (Manager) FinP/anning CelaneseCorp NY NY;

72: MBA Harvard: AssociatelnvestmentBanking WhiteWeld&Co NYCity;

68: lntel O HqUSAF (Headquarters US Air Force) Special Proj Production Fclty Westover AFB;

67-68: lnterrogation Fld Tm Supr 6499JAG Tan Son Nhut AB SVN;

64-66: lntelAnalyst Hq AF Westover AFB;

64: MA Intl Relations Georgetown Univ: AFAIT (Armed Forces Air Intelligence) Lowry AFB;

1BSM2AFCM (Air Force Commendation Medal)-1JSCM (Joint Service Commendation Medal)

Charles Vernon Bush was born December 17, 1939, in Montana. His father, Charles H. Bush, was an administrator at Howard University, and Chuck grew up around the Howard University campus, attending Banneker Junior High School.

In 1954, Chief Justice Earl Warren requested that the Supreme Court appoint its first African American page, and Chuck was selected for the role by the Court's marshal, T. Perry Lippitt, attending the Capitol Page School during his service there. He went on to study electrical engineering at Howard University for two years before entering the Air Force Academy in June 1959, one of three African American cadets to enter the Academy together. He was a squadron commander, a member of the Academy's debate team, and a member of the Cadet Wing champion rugby team, and graduated with the Class of 1963 — becoming, alongside classmates Ike Payne and Roger Sims, one of the first three African Americans to graduate from the Academy, with Chuck recognized as the first to do so.

Chuck earned a Master of Arts in International Relations from Georgetown University in 1964 and attended Air Intelligence Officers School. He was assigned to Westover Air Force Base, Massachusetts, where he also taught political science at American International College, part of the 8th Air Force Strategic Air Command. In 1967-68, he deployed to Vietnam, where he was responsible for the deployment and operations of six intelligence teams, before returning to Westover as Chief of the Technical Analysis Division. He resigned his commission in 1970, having earned the Bronze Star Medal, the Joint Services Commendation Medal, and the Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster.

Chuck went on to earn an MBA in Finance from Harvard Business School in 1972, launching a business career that included senior roles at White Weld & Co. (later Merrill Lynch-White Weld Capital Group), Celanese Corporation, Max Factor, where he served as Vice President and Treasurer, ICN Pharmaceuticals, and Hughes Electronics. He later founded and served as CEO of FONES4ALL, a cellular communications venture, and, in his final years, was President of Ant Hill Ventures LLC from 2005 to 2012.

Throughout his life, Chuck remained closely connected to the Academy, serving as a Trustee of the Falcon Foundation, a guest lecturer in the Academy's Department of Management, and a diversity consultant to the Air Force and the Academy. He published research on diversity in defense and armed forces leadership. He was honored with the USAFA Pathfinder Award at his 40th class reunion and received the Black Service Academy Graduates Trailblazer Award in 2010.

Chuck married Bettina "Tina" Wills in 1964. They had a son, Charles ("Chip"), and two daughters, Kyra and Bettina, along with eight grandchildren.

Charles Vernon Bush died November 2012 at his home in Lolo, Montana, of colon cancer, at the age of 72.