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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Leader

Honored by:

Colonel John D. Tanner, born in 1928, became a life-long aviation enthusiast and aircraft model builder after seeing and hearing those marvelous airplanes at the National Air Races of the early '30s. That exposure to airplanes nurtured his desire to fly. After graduating college with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering Degree, he immediately enlisted in the USAF and started a most rewarding military career (1951-1979). By 1972 he had logged more than 4000 flying hours as a Navigator in Tankers, Bombers and Transports, including those for 175 combat missions in B-29s and EC-47s during the Korean and Vietnamese wars. Other major assignments were; USAF Academy Instructor; Aircraft Maintenance Officer for Bombers, Fighters, and Tanker aircraft; Procurement, Production, and Quality Assurance Officer for Strategic Missile Launch Facilities, and for production and factory maintenance of C-5, C-130, and C-141 aircraft; and Director of Quality Assurance at both USAF Air Staff and Defense Logistics Agency Headquarters. His military awards include the Legion of Merit, Distinguished Flying Cross, and 5 Air Medals. After retiring in 1979 he was a project engineer for a defense contractor until his final retirement in 1994. Since then he has followed the progress of aviation as an enthusiastic reader of aviation literature and attendance at air shows.