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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Mr. Louis Boero

Col. Robert S. Capps, Ret. U.S.A.F.
Born: January 20, 1923
Died: March 22, 2011

Dr. Robert S. Capps retired from the U.S. Air Force as a Command Pilot in 1972. He flew 51 combat missions in a B-24 Liberator as a 21-year old aircraft commander of a crew of 10 over Europe in early 1944 in World War II. Later, he flew 11 years in the Strategic Air Command during the Cold War. He flew 10 engine RB-36 and later the 6 jet B-47 with hydrogen bomb targets where he was an instructor pilot and served on the Standardization Board for many years. His many other assignments were in the Pentagon, Headquarters U.S. Air Force in Europe and the Flight Test Center at Edwards A.F.B. In his career, he flew more than 70 types of aircraft and was awarded the Legion of Merit, Air Medal with Four Oak Leaf Clusters, Commendation Medal with One Oak Leaf Cluster and the Presidential Unit Citation Badge, among other awards.

After retiring from the U.S.A.F., he obtained a Doctorate from The George Washington University and taught there for many years. He also taught at George Mason University where he was an Assistant Professor. While teaching, he did consulting work in the Washington, D.C. area. He was elected President of the National Association of Accountants in Washington, D.C. from 1983-1984 (the name of the organization was later changed to the Institute of Management Accountants).

Born in Stockton, CA, he was raised in Daly City, a suburb of San Francisco. He was a valedictorian of his high school class at Jefferson Union High School. He served 30 years in the U.S.A.F. earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California, Berkeley; a Master’s Degree from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles: and a Doctorate from George Washington University. He was in “Who’s Who 1980-1981 and 1982-1983” and “Who’s Who in Finance and Industry 1979-1980”.

He published two books. In 1994, he published "Hannibal’s Lieutenant" about the life of the Carthaginian, Hannibal Barca, who was famous for taking his army and elephants over the Alps into Roman, Italy in 218 B.C. He also published "The Flying Colt" in 1997 about his experience in the 456th Bomb Group flying combat missions over Europe in World War II.