LT George Merlyn Power O’Keefe, RFC (1898-1954) Royal Flying Corps reconnaissance and observation pilot, World War I; early proponent of aviation in RI; Office of Price Administration automotive manager for RI during WWII. Prominent auto dealer and political influencer.
Victor Pagé was born in 1885 and graduated from Classical High School in Providence in 1904. Although best known for his accomplishments in the automotive field, he may well have designed and built the first airplane ever to fly in Rhode Island. By 1909 he had already published his first aviation book, and was already […]
Thomas J. H. Peirce (1888-1956), a Providence native, is one of the most accomplished and least known Rhode Islanders from the first half of the 20th century. After attending Providence public schools, he graduated from the RI School of Design (RISD) in 1907 and became an accomplished designer, architect and engineer. In 1916 Peirce was […]
Born in Providence, Perkins attended Mt. St. Charles Academy, played hockey and was the All-State football quarterback his senior year. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps three months before Pearl Harbor, earned his wings and shipped over to Italy. He flew B-17 bombers with the 353rd Bomb Squadron (Heavy), 301st Bomb Group. On January […]
Thomas Printer and Lyle Hogg are the pilot and copilot of a commuter plane that caught fire while flying over Rhode Island on February 21, 1982. As flames burned their clothing away, and smoke choked their lungs, Prinster and Hogg remained at the controls and successfully brought the plane down for a crash landing on the […]
CAPT John A. Romano, USN (Ret) is a retired Navy Captain and long-time East Greenwich resident. John Romano’s role in RI aviation history is broader than his service and accomplishments as a Naval Aviator. With war clouds on the horizon in the late 1930s, the Navy appropriated the Romano family’s 400-acre Davisville farm, vineyards and […]
MAJ Eric ‘Ric’ Sawyer, USA, Retired (1945-2021) Army helicopter pilot, Vietnam, earning Distinguished Flying Cross, Bronze Star and 31 Air Medals; 27 years in CT and RI National Guard. Radio station, corporate and Connecticut State Police helicopter pilot; ended flying career flying pipeline patrol for El Paso Energy. During his 45 year flying career, Sawyer […]
Albert F. Schmid (1929-) pursued a lifelong career in general aviation after he left Naval Aviation. He has resided in Rhode Island for the past 18 years, most recently in Exeter. He was born on September 7, 1929 in Springfield, Illinois and entered Western Illinois University in 1947, where he earned a business degree. He […]
Horace A. Scott (1926-2020) WWII Navy enlisted air crew member and aerial gunner (PBY); civilian mechanic for Navy at Quonset; learned to fly on his own to qualify for Eastern Airlines flight engineer position; 30 year career followed as first officer and captain, during which he flew the Constellation, DC-9, B-727 and L-1011. Accrued more […]
Master Army Aviator Thomas P. Shortall is best known for safely crash landing the helicopter carrying Governor Noel after a mechanical failure in May of 1976. He was raised in the Mount Pleasant section of Providence and graduated from Mount Pleasant High School in 1950. He joined the RI Air National Guard in 1949, and […]
Providence-born Martin R. Shugrue, Jr. (1941—1999) was a Naval Aviator and airline executive who played a pivotal and at times controversial role in unsuccessful attempts to keep Pan American World Airways and, later, Eastern Airlines from failing. He was known as a gregarious executive who had a knack for getting along with union leaders and […]
COL Paul L. Smith, USA (Ret) (1887-1978). When the Defense Department finally authorized an aviation unit for the Rhode Island National Guard in 1939, then-Governor Vanderbilt had to find an experienced military aviator to head up this unit, the 152nd Observation Squadron. The choice was relatively easy. Woonsocket resident Paul L Smith was a Captain […]
Colonel Sherwood “Woody” Spring, USA (Ret.) graduated from Ponaganset High School, Chepachet, RI in 1963. Woody was selected as a NASA Astronaut in May 1980. He has experience in 25 types of airplanes and helicopters logging over 4,000 hours flying time.
Justin “Jay” Strauss (1933-2021) was a USAF and General Aviation pilot with more than 12,000 hours of flight time. He flew tanker aircraft in the Strategic Air Command for three years. Best known as the longtime owner and manager of his family business, Eagle Cornice, he volunteered many hours on Angel Flight and Veteran’s Air […]