Bill Garner was born in High Point, North Carolina, November 19, 1933.
His growing love of airplanes came to fruition during World War II when, at the tender age of ten, he discovered the joy of building model airplanes – precisely to the kits’ specifications. They didn’t fly but sure looked great and actually resembled the pictures on the boxes in which they came. His dream of flying became a reality soon after his graduation from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and commissioning as Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force.
His exceptional flying ability was realized early when he graduated with distinction as first in his Undergraduate Pilot Training class of 69 graduates. Following assignments as jet flight instructor, F-100 fighter pilot, and Assistant Professor of Aerospace Studies at the University of Georgia, he entered combat.
He is now retired and lives with his wife, Evelyn, by the Potomac River just south of Washington, D.C.
These are reflections of his journey from small-town boy to the “tip of the spear” of the greatest Air Force in the world and other life opportunities he pursued.
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