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Editor’s Note: In the December leadership forum, we asked you to tell us who your hero is. In last month’s issue we published the first wave of responses on page 173. Here is the second wave; more will follow in May.
Colonel Gregory “Pappy” Boyington, U. S. Marine Corps—Lieutenant (junior grade) Richard Jackson, Jr., U. S. Coast Guard, believes that Pappy completed the “full circle” in the development of an officer and aviator in service to the nation and understood the demands of leadership both as a warrior and a prisoner of war.
Neil Anderson and Brigadier General Chuck Yeager, U. S. Air Force (Retired)—These fast-burner test pilots are heroes to Mike Farley, who has a physical disability that prevented him from flying the planes himself.
Lieutenant Colonel Oliver North, U. S. Marine Corps (Retired)—Steve On- dreako, Sr., served with North and says his hero did what was expected of him and more.
Vice Admiral John D. Bulkeley, U. S. Navy (Retired—Recalled)—Lieutenant Commander Sidney J. Martin, U. S. Navy (Retired) admires the forthrightness of this holder of the Congressional Medal of Honor.
All those whose names are enshrined on monuments or were lost forever in battle—Daniel R. Voboril will never forget these common men who fought back fear and fatigue to face death for their country.
Pat Robertson—This man who loves God and America, represents moral family values, and stands up for what he thinks is right is the hero of Captain Ralph V. Buck, U. S. Navy (Retired). Brigadier General Chuck Yeager, U. S. Air Force (Retired)—Tony Katin admires Yeager because he flew every aircraft and won every award possible in his Air Force career.
Vice Admiral James B. Stockdale, U. S. Navy (Retired)—Every time job stress and the challenges of leadership seem too great, Robert F. Weingaertner looks up to the large, slightly fuzzy piC~ ture of Admiral Stockdale over his desk- He thinks of how his hero turned a military misfortune into a personal triumph during his years of captivity in Hanoi, and then can look at his own (micro) problems in proper perspective.
Captain Jack Fellowes, U. S. Navy (Retired)—Lieutenant Walter A. Stock- nick, U. S. Navy, also holds a former prisoner-of-war in awe—for his absolutely positive outlook on life, despite the brutality he endured; his presence as a professional role model for naval aviators, and his great courage and sense ot humor.
Rear Admiral Richard H. O’Kane, U. S. Navy (Retired)—Gary A. Katt s hero is this leading U. S. submarine ace of World War II, who sank 33 enemy ships. Kane’s personal qualities, selfconfidence, loyalty to ship and country, and strength as a Japanese prisoner-of- war are the qualities Mr. Katt admires-
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Harry S Truman with Robert Lovett
Robert Lovett—Lieutenant Andrew R. Bacas, U. S. Navy, VF-21, USS Constellation (CV-64), looks to Lovett, who always pushed himself hard, even when he didn’t have to, and unceasingly sought better ways to serve his country.
As a junior at Yale in 1917, Lovett and several classmates left school to form a military flying squadron that came to be called the First Yale Unit. The men persuaded the Navy, hard-pressed for funds, pilots, and airplanes, that given limited assistance they could teach themselves to fly and would accept commissions in the Navy and go to France. The self-starting unit did, in fact, make it to France and participated in many bomber and fighter missions. Lovett rose to the position of Group Commander.
After the war he worked on Wall Street until 1940, when he was called to Washington to work in the War Department under Henry Stimson. During World War II, he served as the Assistant Secretary of War for Air and supervised the successful buildup of the U. S. Army Air Corps into the most powerful air force in the world.
Lovett, a life-long Republican, stayed in Washington after the war to serve the Truman administration as Assistant Secretary of State, Assistant Secretary of Defense, and finally as Secretary of Defense. Poor health prevented him from serving in either the Eisenhower or Kennedy administrations, even though John F. Kennedy offered him any cabinet post he wished. Lovett died in 1986.
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Proceedings / April 1989