Forrest “Dutch” Kissinger

Col. (ret) Forrest “Dutch” Kissinger, enlisted in the Air Force at 18 years old in 1949 as an aircraft mechanic. Three years later he was given the opportunity to become a pilot during the Korean War when the Air Force needed to surge and grow its pilot population.

“I had to take a test, and if I passed the test they would let me be a pilot,” Forrest said. “If I didn’t pass then my enlistment was up, and I would go home. Well, thirty-one years and three months later, I had a great career and retired as a full bird colonel.”