Kevin G Wall was a teenager during WWII, and he wanted to be a pilot. He built detailed wooden models of aircraft, read books about aviation, and drank carrot juice to improve his vision. He was drafted into the Army in 1945, but his vision was not good enough to get pilot training. The war ended while he was in boot camp, and he served in the occupation of Italy. After the war, he attended Newark College of Engineering and earned a degree in mechanical engineering. He worked for Bendix Corporation in Teterboro, NJ for 22 years on aircraft projects including the Convair B-58 Hustler supersonic bomber, and the Douglas DC-10 airliner. He fostered an interest in aviation in one of his four children, John, who continues a career in aerospace.