Decorations
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Silver Star -
Legion of Merit -
Distinguished Flying Cross with 3 oak leaf clusters -
Air Medal with 13 oak leaf clusters
Richard Lowe Johnson (September 21, 1917 - November 9, 2002) is best known for being chief test pilot for Convair, [1] a division of the American defence contractor General Dynamics, and as a founding member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots in 1955. [2]
Johnson was born in Cooperstown, North Dakota, and educated at Oregon State University. In 1942, Johnson enlisted in the US Army Air Corps and served as a P-47 Thunderbolt pilot with the 57th Group's, 66th Fighter Squadron, in North Africa and Italy. He completed 180 combat missions and was awarded the Silver Star, the Legion of Merit, four Distinguished Flying Crosses and fourteen Air Medals. Johnson graduated from the Air Materiel Command Engineering Test Pilot School in 1946. [3] The F-86A set its first official world speed record of 671 miles per hour (1,080 km/h) on September 15, 1948, at Muroc Dry Lake flown by Major Richard L. Johnson, USAF. Johnson remained in the US Air Force until 1953, having reached the rank of lieutenant colonel.
He died of brain cancer on November 9, 2002, and was buried with full military honors at Arlington National Cemetery. [4]
Silver Star 
Legion of Merit 
Distinguished Flying Cross with 3 oak leaf clusters 
Air Medal with 13 oak leaf clusters
Robert Lee Stewart is a retired brigadier general of the United States Army and a former NASA astronaut.
Guy Spence Gardner is a United States Air Force officer and a former astronaut. He holds the rank of colonel. He flew as pilot on two Space Shuttle missions, STS-27 and STS-35. Gardner was also the 12th president of the Williamson College of the Trades.
Robert Aitken "Bob" Rushworth was an American United States Air Force major general, World War II, Korean War and Vietnam War pilot, mechanical and aeronautical engineer, test pilot and astronaut. He was one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane jointly operated by the Air Force and NASA. He flew 34 of the program's 199 flights, more than any other pilot.
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Lieutenant General Bradley Clark Hosmer served as the twelfth Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado from 1991 to 1994. He was the first Academy graduate to return as superintendent.
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Tad J. Oelstrom is a retired United States Air Force Lieutenant General who served as the Director of the National Security Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University. He also served as the fourteenth Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Donald Raphael Delauter is a retired U.S. Air Force brigadier general and former director of the Command Planning Staff, Headquarters NORAD, at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado.
General Joseph James Nazzaro was commander in chief of Pacific Air Forces with headquarters at Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii and Commanders-in-Chief of The Strategic Air Command with headquarters at Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska.
Jay Thorpe Robbins was a career officer in the United States Air Force who rose to the rank of lieutenant general. He was also a United States Army Air Forces fighter ace of World War II.
John Koehler Gerhart was a United States Air Force four-star general, and served as commander, North American Air Defense Command under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson.
William Hugh Blanchard was a United States Air Force officer who attained the rank of four-star general and served as Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Air Force from 1965 to 1966.
General Jack Joseph Catton was a United States Air Force four-star general and was commander of the Air Force Logistics Command with headquarters at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and of the Military Airlift Command.
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Herbert "Herb" James Gavin was an American Chief Test Pilot in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He retired on 1 June 1978 as Major General. He is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Howard Wesley Leaf was a United States Air Force lieutenant general who served as a fighter pilot during the Korean War and Vietnam War and retired as assistant vice chief of staff at the Pentagon in 1984.
Betty L. Mullis is a retired USAF command pilot born in Kansas. She is now a civilian airline pilot. Joining the USAF in 1972, she had a 33-year service career in the USAF, before she retired in 2005. During her service, she was awarded the Legion of Merit and the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal and achieved the rank of Major-General.
Melbourne Kimsey is a retired brigadier general in the United States Air Force who served as director of the Cheyenne Mountain Complex from 1981 to 1983,
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