A Marine Corps hero becomes national president of the Air Force Association. AFA elects Joe Foss, leading Marine Corps ace in World War II, recipient of the Medal of Honor, and two-term governor of South Dakota. Foss left the Marine Corps as a major in 1946 and joined the Air National Guard, in which he rose to the grade of brigadier general in 1954. In 1988, Foss will be elected president of the National Rifle Association.
Airmen basic rarely go on to become four-star generals, but one who did retired last week after a 42 year career that saw him rise from a lowly slick-sleeve to the head of one of the Air Force’s most important major commands.