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Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:

With unwavering faith in God and relentless dedication to his goal of being a pilot since his first airplane ride as a youth, Doc Hemberger made flying his lifelong career. He was born in 1950 in Louisville, KY, and grew up in St. Petersburg, FL. In 1973, he graduated from the United States Naval Academy, and served in the U. S. Navy for over 22 years. Assignments included an initial operational tour flying the F-14 Tomcat, and then an F-14 instructor tour where he served as a Standardization, Air-to-Air Tactics, and Simulator Instructor as well as an Adversary Pilot. Later assignments included Maintenance Check Pilot, Instrument Check Pilot, Flag Pilot, Operations Officer, and Commanding Officer. During his naval career, Doc flew the T-34B, T-2C, TA-4J, F-14, A-4E/F, C-131, T-39, C-12, and C-9B. After retiring from the Navy with the rank of Commander, Doc Hemberger continued his aviation career as a civilian at TXI Aviation, Inc., and then Southwest Airlines. Civilian aircraft he has flown include the AA-1, PA-24, C-172, M-21, CE-500, DA-10, DA-200, G1159(G3), DA-50, and the B-737.