USAFA - Spirit of 76 - Legacy Project - REPORT! Interviews with the Long Blue Line‪.‬ John Hope

Rich Luhrs grew up in Kinderhook, NY and was told from day one he would not be flight rated upon graduation so he focused on academics and double majored in EE and Math. After AFA he attended Princeton on a Guggenheim Scholarship followed by engineering roles at Wright Pat and Edwards. Oh, and a very short time as a EE instructor at AFA from where he entered civilian life as a SR EE for several companies and agencies till his retirement. As a cadet Rich pulled off many spirit stunts and recalls them here. Enjoy!

Kirk Bell grew up in Gary, IN and attended three high schools, two of them military ones in OK and MO. His older brother was a Preppie in the class of 74 which led to some interesting overlap for Kirk. As an upper class cadet Kirk was in CS-28 and they won Honor Squadron our Firstie year. (Cuff-links? Really?) Upon graduation Kirk became a pilot and followed UPT at Vance with an IP tour. He also had a short Air Ops stint at Keflavik, Iceland followed by another IP tour at Randolph in San Antonio. From there he left active duty and became a financial advisor at Shearson- Lehman - Smith Barney rising to branch manager till 2003. He now is a managing partner (and still Financial Advisor) for his own firm, Bell & Valente, a company affiliated with Raymond James. Kirk is a past President of the North Dallas AOG, pilot for Angel Flight, and Rotary Volunteer. And he is still active playing tennis and golf. Kirk is a very proud member of the Spirit of 76 and represents us well in his community.

Major General Larry New and his twin brother are both grads and classmates of the Spirit of 76. They both hail from Texas and flew fighters, Larry primarily in the F-15. Larry accumulated over 3500 hours in fighters even flying into his 50's! As he climbed the general officer ranks he worked on USAF procurement and resources for force structure at NATO and Pentagon assignments. Upon retirement from the USAF he became a VP at Boeing as well as an AOG Board of Directors member. Larry has numerous awards and honors and is an outstanding member of the Spirit of 76.

Mark grew up in Denton Tx, was also a history major, roomed with Rich King for a stint, spent his active duty as a maintenance officer at Reese where the challenge was to keep the training flight schedule on track while repairing and logistically supporting T-37 and T-38 aircraft. After finishing his commitment he went off to law school and worked as a trial lawyer in Dallas followed by 15 years as a Federal Prosecutor followed by a role with the Texas Attorney General's office. I got to know Mark best when we returned from Europe, me finishing up my 30 day leave, Mark and his wife their honeymoon.

Stef grew up on a farm in CT the son of a Luftwaffe pilot and learned to fly in HS. At USAFA he excelled academically (DG top 40 MOM's) as did his cadet squadron who was the top academic squadron while we were at the zoo. Upon graduation he became a pilot and stayed in the IP/training role throughout most of his career. With a Masters and PhD he eventually rose to Commander of AF Basic Command in TX and the AWC in AL. Since retirement from active duty he has been the director of USAF Negotiation's Center of Excellence and a professor of research.

Gary is originally from Texas and was an upper classman in CS-29, the Black Panthers (at that time). Upon graduation was assigned to Vance for UPT and kept there as a IP till he got an assignment to Eglin and F-15's. Luke, Osan, Langley, and Tyndall followed his flying career. once the desks loomed he transitioned to United Airlines. While at ACSC he hosted Hub Zemke at a Gathering of Eagles weekend. Gunter Rall, Gabby Gabrreski, and Jerry Johnson also were there. Look them up!