I grew up in Burley, Idaho. We lived on a farm and I learned to work hard at an early age. I enlisted in the Air Force in 1956 when I was seventeen years old and spent two years in Japan and nearly two years in Germany. In 1960 I took an Honorable Discharge and began college at Weber State College in Ogden, Utah. I was married and had one child and worked full time for Boeing at Hill Air Force Base (AFB), Utah. I finished a four-year course of study in less than three years, graduating with honors.
I reentered the Air Force at Officer Training School (OTS) at Lackland AFB, Texas. I graduated as a Distinguished Military Graduate. From OTS I went to Pilot Training, then to fighter training in the F4C Phantom, I graduated as the outstanding pilot of my class (Top Gun).
