Famous people who served in the United States Air Force. See also Notable people who served in the U.S. Army Air Forces, and Notable graduates of the United States Air Force Academy. The United States Air Force (USAF) is the aerial warfare branch of the United States armed forces and one of the seven uniformed services. ... The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) was a part of the U.S. Army during World War II. The direct precursor to the U.S. Air Force, the USAAF formally existed between 1941 and 1947. ... This article is a list of notable graduates of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado. ...

The following is a list of former members of the USAF who have gained public notoriety through subsequent endeavors, infamy, or successes:

Contents: Top - 0–9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

• Paul W. Airey - First Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force
• Buzz Aldrin - Astronaut (Gemini 12 and Apollo 11 - Second man to walk on the Moon)
• William Anders - Astronaut (Apollo 8 - first flight to orbit the Moon)
• Michael P. Anderson - Astronaut (Killed in Columbia Accident)
• Bud Anderson - P-51 pilot and triple ace. (Europe, World War II.)

Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force Paul W. Airey was the first Chief Master Sergeant appointed to the highest non-commissioned officer (NCO) position, selected from among 21 Major Command (MAJCOM) nominees. ... Colonel Buzz Eugene Aldrin, Sc. ... Gemini 12 (officially Gemini XII) was a 1966 manned spaceflight in NASAs Gemini program. ... Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. ... Apparent magnitude: up to -12. ... William Alison Anders (born October 17, 1933) is a former United States Air Force officer and National Aeronautics and Space Administration astronaut. ... Apollo 8 was the second manned mission of the Apollo space program, in which Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders became the first humans to orbit around the Moon. ... Michael P. Anderson Michael Phillip Anderson (December 25, 1959 – February 1, 2003) was a Lieutenant Colonel (USAF), a NASA astronaut and the Space Shuttle payload commander of STS-107 (Columbia) who was killed when the craft disintegrated after reentry into the Earths atmosphere. ... The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earths atmosphere, shortly before concluding its 28th mission, STS-107. ... Col. ... The North American P-51 Mustang was a successful long range fighter aircraft which set new standards of excellence and performance when it entered service in the middle years of World War II and is still regarded as one of the very best piston-engined fighters ever made. ... This article is 150 kilobytes or more in size. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000...

B

• Alonzo Babers - airline pilot and former Olympic athlete
• Frank Borman - Astronaut (Gemini 7 & Apollo 8 - first flight to orbit the Moon)
• Dale Brown - Author
• George W. Bush - 43rd President of the United States (Texas Air National Guard)

Alonzo C. Babers (born October 31, American athlete, winner of two gold medals at the 1984 Summer Olympics. ... Olympic Games Summer Olympic Games Medal count Winter Olympic Games Medal count Olympic sports Medal counts Participating NOCs Olympic symbols Olympics WikiProject Olympics Portal Athens 2004 • Beijing 2008 Torino 2006 • Vancouver 2010 ... Frank Borman (right) poses with Jim Lovell (left) and Bill Anders (center) for an Apollo 8 publicity photo Frank Borman (born March 14, 1928) was a NASA astronaut, best remembered as one of the three crewmembers of Apollo 8, the first mission to fly around the Moon. ... Gemini 7 (officially Gemini VII) was a 1965 manned spaceflight in NASAs Gemini program. ... Apollo 8 was the second manned mission of the Apollo space program, in which Commander Frank Borman, Command Module Pilot James Lovell and Lunar Module Pilot William Anders became the first humans to orbit around the Moon. ... Dale Brown (b. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States, inaugurated on January 20, 2001. ... Official language(s) No Official Language See languages of Texas Capital Austin Largest city Houston Area  Ranked 2nd  - Total 261,797 sq mi (678,051 km²)  - Width 773 miles (1,244 km)  - Length 790 miles (1,270 km)  - % water 2. ... The Air National Guard (ANG) is part of the United States National Guard and a reserve component of the United States Air Force (USAF). ...

C

• George Carlin - Actor & Comedian
• Johnny Cash - Country Music Singer
• Harry Chapin - Singer/songwriter
• Gordon Cooper - Mercury Astronaut (Mercury 9 & Gemini 5)
• Michael Collins - Astronaut (Gemini 10 & Apollo 11)
• Eileen Collins - Astronaut, first female Space Shuttle pilot and commander (STS-84, STS-93, STS-114)

George Dennis Carlin (born May 12, 1937 in New York, New York)[2] is a Grammy-winning Irish-American stand-up comedian, actor, and author. ... Johnny Cash (born J. R. Cash, February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was a multi Grammy Award-winning influential American country and rock and roll singer and songwriter. ... Harry Forster Chapin (December 7, 1942 – July 16, 1981) was an American singer, songwriter, and humanitarian. ... Leroy Gordon Gordo Cooper, Jr. ... Crew Gordon Cooper Backup Crew Alan B. Shepard Mission Parameters Mass: 1,360. ... Gemini 5 (officially Gemini V) was a 1965 manned spaceflight in NASAs Gemini program. ... Michael Collins (born October 31, 1930) is a former American astronaut and test pilot. ... Gemini 10 (officially Gemini X) was a 1966 manned spaceflight in NASAs Gemini program. ... Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. ... Eileen Marie Collins (b. ... NASAs Space Shuttle, officially called Space Transportation System (STS), is the United States governments current manned launch vehicle. ... This is a mission of the United States Space Shuttle // Crew Charles J. Precourt (3), Mission Commander Eileen M. Collins (2), Pilot Carlos I. Noriega (1), Mission Specialist Edward T. Lu, (1), Mission Specialist Jean-François Clervoy (2), (ESA) Mission Specialist Elena V. Kondakova (2), (RSA) Mission Specialist Launched... STS-93 marked the 95th launch of the Space Shuttle, the 26th launch of Columbia, and the 21st night launch of a Space Shuttle. ... STS-114 was the first return to flight Space Shuttle mission following the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. ...

D

• Tom Daschle - Former U.S. Senator and floor leader (D-SD)
• Charles Duke - Astronaut (Apollo 16)

Thomas Andrew Daschle (born December 9, 1947), known as Tom Daschle, was a U.S. Senator from South Dakota and the Senate Majority Leader. ... Charles Moss Duke, Jr. ... Apollo 16 was the tenth manned mission in the Apollo program and the fifth mission to land on the Moon. ...

E

• Joe Engle - Astronaut, X-15 and space shuttle pilot

Joseph Joe Henry Engle (born August 26, 1932 in Dickinson County, Kansas) is a former NASA astronaut and a retired U.S. Air Force colonel. ...

F

• Kelly Flinn - First female B-52 pilot
• Joe Foss - Former Marine ace and governor of South Dakota (Air National Guard)
• Morgan Freeman - Actor
• Theodore Freeman - Astronaut (killed in a jet plane accident)

Lieutenant Kelly Flinn, born 23 December 1970, in St. ... B-52 can refer to the following: The Boeing B-52 Stratofortress strategic bomber aircraft A hairstyle popular in the 1950s and 1960s, named after the aircraft A rock band, The B-52s, named after the hairstyle A cocktail This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which... Joseph Jacob Joe Foss (April 17, 1915 – January 1, 2003) was an American politician, an ace fighter pilot, and a recipient of the Medal of Honor in 1943. ... Dawsons Creek director, see Morgan J. Freeman. ... Theodore Cordy Freeman (born February 18, 1930, in Haverford, Pennsylvania; died October 31, 1964 at Ellington Air Force Base, Houston, Texas) was a NASA astronaut and a captain in the United States Air Force. ...

G

• Marvin Gaye - Singer
• Lindsay Graham - U.S. senator
• Susan Grant - Novelist
• Gus Grissom - Mercury Astronaut (Mercury 4 and Gemini 3; later killed in Apollo 1 fire)

Marvin Gaye (born Marvin Pentz Gay, Jr. ... Lindsey Olin Graham (born July 9, 1955) is an American politician from South Carolina. ... Susan Grant is a pilot and author, dubbed the inventor of aviation romance, by Romantic Times Magazine. ... Virgil Ivan Gus Grissom (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967) was a United States Air Force pilot who became the second American astronaut and one of the first to die in the U.S. space program. ... Mercury 4 was a Mercury program manned space mission launched on July 21, 1961 using a Redstone rocket. ... Gemini 3 was a 1965 manned space flight in NASAs Gemini program. ... Apollo One is the official name given to the Apollo/Saturn 204 (AS-204) spacecraft, destroyed by fire during a training exercise on January 27, 1967, at Pad 34 (Launch Complex 34 at Cape Canaveral - then known as Cape Kennedy) atop a Saturn IB rocket. ...

H

• Michael Hayden — CIA Director
• Chad Hennings - NFL player
• LeRoy Homer - Airline pilot, co-pilot of United Airlines Flight 93
• Rick D. Husband – NASA astronaut (Killed in Columbia Accident)

For the composer, see Michael Haydn. ... Chad William Hennings (born October 20, 1965) played defensive lineman for the Air Force Academy Falcons. ... NFL logo For other uses of the abbreviation NFL, see NFL (disambiguation). ... LeRoy Wilton Homer Jr. ... United Airlines Flight 93 was a regular flight from Newark International Airport (now known as Newark Liberty International Airport) in Newark, New Jersey, to San Francisco International Airport, then continuing on to Narita International Airport in Tokyo, Japan, on a different aircraft. ... Rick D. Husband (larger image) Richard Douglas Husband (July 12, 1957 – February 1, 2003) was an astronaut and the space shuttle commander of STS-107 (Columbia) who was killed when the craft disintegrated after reentry into the Earths atmosphere. ... The Space Shuttle Columbia disaster occurred on February 1, 2003, when the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas during re-entry into the Earths atmosphere, shortly before concluding its 28th mission, STS-107. ...

I

• James Irwin - Astronaut (Apollo 15)

James Benson Irwin (March 17, 1930 – August 8, 1991) was a member of the Apollo 15 mission and the eighth man to walk on the Moon. ... Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the Apollo program and the fourth mission to land on the Moon. ...

J

• John Hillerman - Actor

John Hillerman (born December 20, 1932 in Denison, Texas) is an American actor. ...

K

• Ron Kenoly - Christian music worship leader
• Ivan Kincheloe - Air Force test pilot

Ron Kenoly (born December 6, 1944 in Coffeyville, Kansas) is a Christian worship leader whose express mission is to create an environment for the manifest presence of God. His musical style is one of jubilant praise and individual excellence on musical instruments. ... Iven C. Kincheloe Jr. ...

L

• Curtis LeMay - Chief of Staff and vice presidential candidate
• John Levitow - enlisted recipient of the Medal of Honor

Curtis Emerson LeMay (November 15, 1906 – October 1, 1990) was a General in the United States Air Force and the vice presidential running mate of independent candidate George C. Wallace in 1968. ... John Levitow, November 1, 1945-November 8, 2000, was the one of two Air Force enlisted men to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Vietnam War. ...

M

• Jerry Mathers - Actor
• T. Allen McArtor - Business executive and former FAA Administrator
• MC Tee - Musician

Jerry Mathers (born June 2, 1948 in Sioux City, Iowa, USA), is best known for his role in the television sitcom series Leave it to Beaver (1957-1963), in which he starred as Theodore Beaver Cleaver, a child living in a somewhat ideal family. ... T. Allen McArtor was the Administrator of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration from 1987 to 1989. ... Touré Embden, known by the stage name, MC Tee, was a Haitian-American rapper and co-founder (with DJ Kurtis Mantronik) of influential and innovative 1980s old school hip hop and electro funk group, Mantronix. ...

N

• Chuck Norris - Actor & martial artist

Carlos Ray Chuck Norris (born on 10 March 1940) is an American martial artist, action star, Hollywood actor, and recently, an internet phenomenon, who is best known for playing Cordell Walker on Walker, Texas Ranger. ...

O

• Robin Olds - Two-war flying ace

Robin Olds (born July 14, 1922) is a former American fighter pilot who served in the U.S. Air Force. ... The Red Baron, Manfred von Richthofen, perhaps the most famous ace of all. ...

P

• William H. Pitsenbarger - enlisted recipient of the Medal of Honor
• Greg Popovich - NBA head coach
• Jody Powell - White House Press Secretary

A1C William H. Pitsenbarger was a United States Air Force Pararescueman who gave his life aiding and defending a unit of Soldiers pinned by an enemy assault in Vietnam. ... Gregg Popovich (Popović/Поповић in Serbian) (born January 28, 1949 in East Chicago, Indiana) is the head coach of the NBAs San Antonio Spurs. ... The National Basketball Association of the United States and Canada, commonly known as the NBA, is the premier professional basketball league in North America. ... Joseph Jody Lester Powell (born 1943) is a U.S. administrator. ...

Q

• Robin Quivers - Co-host of the Howard Stern Show.

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

R

• R. Stephen Ritchie - "Steve" Ritchie was a USAF Ace in the Vietnam War

• Bob Ross - Painter

• Eddie Rickenbacker- Famous WWI ace

Brigadier General Richard Stephen Steve Ritchie (born June 25, 1942 in Reidsville, North Carolina) was an officer in the United States Air Force and the Colorado Air National Guard, and a general officer in the Air Force Reserve. ... Bob Ross (October 29, 1942 – July 4, 1995) was an American painter and television presenter. ... Painting by Rembrandt self-portrait Detail from Las Meninas by Diego Velazquez, in which the painter portrayed himself at work For the computer graphics program, see Corel Painter. ... Eddie Rickenbacker (October 8, 1890 – July 27, 1973) was best known as a World War I fighter ace and Medal of Honor recipient. ...

S

• James Salter - Novelist
• Bob Schieffer - Host of CBS Evening News
• Dick Scobee - Astronaut, killed in Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
• David Scott - Astronaut (Gemini 8, Apollo 9, and Apollo 15)
• Lance Sijan - Medal of Honor recipient
• Sinbad - Actor & Comedian
• Deke Slayton - Mercury and Apollo-Soyuz Test Project astronaut
• Bill Stealey - Business CEO and co-founder of MicroProse
• Jimmy Stewart - Actor
• Victor Santos - Baseball Player

James Salter (born 1925) is an American short story writer and novelist. ... Bob Schieffer Bob Schieffer (born February 25, 1937 in Austin, Texas) has been a journalist with CBS News since 1969, serving as a principal anchor since 1973, chief Washington correspondent since 1982, moderator of the Sunday public affairs show Face the Nation since 1991, and, beginning in March of 2005... Francis Richard Dick Scobee (May 19, 1939 - January 28, 1986) was an American astronaut who died commanding the Space Shuttle Challenger, which suffered catastrophic booster failure during launch of the STS-51-L mission. ... For further information about Challengers mission and crew, see STS-51-L. The iconic image of Space Shuttle Challengers smoke plume after its breakup 73 seconds after launch. ... David Scotts Apollo 15 training space suit on display in the Air and Space Museum, Washington, DC. Colonel David Randolph Scott (born June 6, 1932), a former NASA astronaut, was one of the third group of astronauts named by NASA in October 1963 and is one of only twelve... Gemini 8 (officially Gemini VIII) was a 1966 manned spaceflight in NASAs Gemini program. ... Apollo 9 was the third manned mission in the Apollo program, a ten day earth-orbital mission launched 3 March 1969. ... Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the Apollo program and the fourth mission to land on the Moon. ... Lance Peter Sijan an American pilot, of Serbian (father) and Irish (mother) descent, with a rank of Captain in the USAF. He was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on April 13, 1942. ... David Adkins (born November 10, 1956), who uses the stage name Sinbad, is an American stand-up comedian and actor. ... Donald Kent Deke Slayton (March 1, 1924 – June 13, 1993) was one of the original Mercury Seven NASA astronauts. ... The Apollo-Soyuz Test Project was the first joint flight of the U.S. and Soviet space programs. ... John Wilbur Wild Bill Stealey Sr. ... MicroProse Software, Inc. ... Jimmy Stewart, photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1934 James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American film actor beloved for his persona as an average guy who faces adversity and tries to do the right thing, an image which was largely reflected in his own... Victor Irving Santos (born October 2, 1976, San Pedro de Macoris, Dominican Republic) is a right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball with the Milwaukee Brewers. ...

T

• Hunter S. Thompson - Writer
• Paul Tibbets - Pilot whose B-29 dropped the first atomic bomb
• Harrison R. Thyng - Two-war ace and Senate candidate
• Stephen W. Thompson-First person in U. S. Military to shoot down an enemy aircraft.

Hunter Stockton Thompson (July 18, 1937 – February 20, 2005) was an American journalist and author. ... Colonel Paul Tibbets Jr. ... Harrison Reed Thyng (April 12, 1918 - September 24, 1983) was a general officer and fighter pilot in the United States Air Force, and one of only six USAF fighter pilots to be recognized as an ace in two wars. ...

U

V

W

• Edward H. White, II - Astronaut (first American to walk in space; later killed in Apollo 1 fire)
• Heather Wilson - Member of Congress
• Alfred Worden - Astronaut (Apollo 15)

Edward Higgins White, II (Lt. ... Apollo One is the official name given to the Apollo/Saturn 204 (AS-204) spacecraft, destroyed by fire during a training exercise on January 27, 1967, at Pad 34 (Launch Complex 34 at Cape Canaveral - then known as Cape Kennedy) atop a Saturn IB rocket. ... Heather A. Wilson (born December 30, 1960), is a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives, representing New Mexicos 1st congressional district. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      House of Representatives is a name used for legislative bodies in many countries. ... Alfred Merrill Worden (born February 7, American astronaut who was the command module pilot for the Apollo 15 moon mission in July_August 1971. ... Apollo 15 was the ninth manned mission in the Apollo program and the fourth mission to land on the Moon. ...

X

Y

• Charles Yeager - First man to break the sound barrier

General Yeager Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager (born February 13, 1923 in Myra, Lincoln County, West Virginia) is a former World War II ace and test pilot. ...

Z