After graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1956, Admiral Shumaker attended flight training and eventually joined VF-32, a fighter squadron in Jacksonville, Florida. In 1964 he joined VF-154 in San Diego, California and in February 1965, he was shot down on a mission over North Vietnam, was captured, and spent the next eight years as a POW. After returning home he earned a doctorate in electrical engineering. Admiral Shumaker retired from the Navy in 1989. In this presentation, Admiral Shumaker provides a unique look at naval aviation from the perspective of an aviator and former POW who later helped shape the Navy's air, surface, electronic, and space activities at the end of the twentieth century.

The GE Aviation Lecture Series is made possible by the generous support of GE Aviation.