USAFA Class Heritage

I grew up in Cape Girardeau, Missouri and was attending St. Louis University's Parks College of Aeronautical Technology when I received my appointment to the Air Force Academy. Following graduation from the Air Force Academy, I completed pilot training at Vance AFB and then went on to fly B-52s at Kincheloe AFB in Michigan. Soon after arriving at Kincheloe, the war in Vietnam started to heat up so I decided I had better volunteer to fly B-52s in Southeast Asia less it would be over before I got my chance. My volunteer request was turned down because our crew was providing strategic deterrence during the height of the cold war. Deciding to get on with our lives, Kathie and I became engaged and were to be married in June of 1967. Kathie and I had met in Bermuda several years earlier. She was from the Detroit area, but was flying for American Airlines out of New York City. In March, my orders came for Vietnam with 0-1 training at Hurlbert Field in Florida and a reporting date in May. The long and short of it is that Kathie and I accelerated our plans for our wedding. We were married in Kathie's home town before I departed for Vietnam. We celebrated our 46th wedding anniversary this year so it must have been the right thing to do. I spent my tour in Vietnam as a forward air controller flying O-1s out of Bao Loc in II Corps. Following Vietnam, I volunteered for a consecutive overseas assignment to Europe. However, my European tour was to be spent in the Panama Canal Zone where I flew U-10 s and O-2Bs. Kathie and I loved Panama and our two oldest sons were born there. We had some really great adventures in Panama and the neighboring countries in Central and South America. Having been notified that I was headed for the rated supplement, I volunteered for an assignment in Minuteman Missiles so that I could get a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Missouri through the Minuteman Education Program. Once I got checked out on a Minuteman crew at Whiteman AFB, I found that missile crews shared all of the drudgery of flight crews (standing alert, check rides, etc.), but they never got the thrill of flying. I also realized that my aviation career was in retrograde after starting out flying jet aircraft and now I was flying T-29s. Missile crew duty, flying, and graduate school occupied most of my time. Not all of it though, as our third son was born while we were in Missouri. By this time, I had quit volunteering and was assigned to the 8th Air Force Command Post at Barksdale AFB where I flew T-39s. Things were definitely looking up. Kathie and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary. We had three fine young sons who were growing up all too quickly. There was also all of the gumbo you could eat. What could be better? But it did get better. I was transferred to Hawaii to fly on the battle staff of the CINCPAC Airborne Command Post (EC-135Js) out of Hickam AFB. Duty on the CINCPAC joint staff was a delight. We lived in Mililani Town in central Oahu and loved it. The children were now in school, scouting, and sports. And with the children all in school, Kathie took up Chinese cooking, Hawaiian quilting, and Asian art. I finished out our four and half-year stint in Hawaii as the operations officer of the CINCPAC Airborne Command Post. And yes, I did have to volunteer and resort to other trickery to extend that long. My last Air Force assignment was to the wing command post at Carswell AFB. After being in Hawaii so long, the transition was a shock. There were shoes and winter clothing for a family of five. We enjoyed Fort Worth, but I pledged at that time that no matter how long I lived in Texas, country and western music would not replace Hawaiian music as my favorite. The Fort Worth experience was all too short as I retired after a year and excitedly took a position at the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The Space Shuttle was going operational and the future of the space program looked bright. We found Houston and the Clear Lake area to be a very active and interesting place to raise our family. Kathie and I were both involved in our sons' activities as well as our church and community. Kathie set out to become more informed and involved in the political process by joining the local Republican women's club. Little did I know where this was leading. Pretty soon, she was giving me advice on how to vote and was introducing me to our local elected officials. One of my fellow workers thought I had made the big time when he spotted me on the evening news talking to presidential candidate, Senator Bob Dole, along with Governor George W. Bush at a press conference. I finally had to confess that I really was not talking to Senator Dole, but I was standing next to my wife who was talking to Senator Dole. But things got even more interesting as my shy, sweet, and demure wife accepted a part time position on the staff of Texas Senator Jerry Patterson. He is a former Marine aviator who flew F-4s in Vietnam and is the author of the law that authorizes Texans to carry concealed handguns for the first time since reconstruction. He is now the Texas Land Commissioner and is currently running for Lieutenant Governor. Kathie was recognized as one of the Top 10 Republican Women in Texas in 2007. So things are never dull around Kathie's political associates and we have both become actively involved in the political process. While in high school, our oldest son was an exchange student on a U.S. Senate program in Otsu, Japan and then graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He continued to pursue a Doctorate in Electrical Engineering from the University of Washington. He lives with his wife, two sons, and daughter in Seattle. Our second son graduated from St. Mary's University in San Antonio with a degree in computer science. He works for a contractor at the Johnson Space Center. Our youngest son graduated from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth with a degree in accounting. A certified public accountant, he and his wife live in the Chicago area. They have two daughters. Finding our home nest to be empty, Kathie and I moved across Clear Lake to a garden home in Galveston County. My work at the Johnson Space Center was very rewarding. Initially, I supported the Mission Operations Directorate and later I worked in the Space Station Program Office. I traveled to Moscow three times to coordinate operations planning for the International Space Station. It was extremely interesting to visit the Russian Mission Control Center in Kaliningrad and the Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City. I was also able to stroll across Red Square. Back in my days on a Strategic Air Command bomber crew, I never expected to get a ground level view of Red Square or to know any Russians by name. Assigned to the Astronaut Office as a support engineer, my last ten years were very stimulating. It was certainly rewarding to personally know and to work with the astronauts flying on the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station. For three years, I was honored to serve on Senator John Cornyn€™s Service Academy Selection Board for the state of Texas. It was reassuring to see the extremely high quality of candidates who were applying to the service academies. Retiring in October of 2010, life remains full and adventurous. For retirement, I bought a baby grand piano and resumed piano lessons after a break of fifty-seven years. I have been appointed to the Children's Services Board for Galveston County and to the League City Parks Board. Kathie serves on the Galveston County Historical Commission and has been appointed to the League City Library Board of Trustees. We were the founders of two grass-root Republican organizations in Galveston County and continue our active political involvement both locally and nationally. Kathie and I continue to travel the world with a goal of seeing the seven wonders. We are well on our way with two more to go. Of course, our travels also include frequent visits to be with our grandchildren. We have come a long way in our time. Our country and our military are presently facing challenges. The Space Shuttle has been retired, but the B-52s and the International Space Station fly on. My wife of forty-six years, though no longer shy, is still sweet. And the Texas two-step and the waltz are my favorite dance steps.