“Gus” Kinnear II was born in Mounds, Oklahoma. His father Neil was a World War I disabled combat veteran. During World War II he left high school to enlist on his 17th birthday. In between combat tours in Korea and Vietnam, he made up for his lack of a high school diploma by earning 2 degrees from Stanford University (PhD in Engineering Management and MS in Industrial Engineering), and 2 from George Washington University (MA in Personnel Management and BA in Physical Science and Mathematics) also graduating from the Naval War College and the Naval Postgraduate School. His distinguished career included assignments as Commander of the Naval Air Force U.S. Atlantic Fleet, Chief of Legislative Affairs, Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel, Special Assistant for Financial Management, and Assistant Comptroller for Cost Review and Reporting, and, as the U.S. Representative to the NATO Military Committee, Brussels, Belgium. Kinnear’s life was a shining example of the value of character, integrity and valor as well as devotion to his family and country. He flew 100+ combat missions in Korea and Vietnam, and flew more different aircraft in combat than any Naval Aviator. Flying off the carriers USS Shangri-La, Princeton, Lake Champlain, Kitty Hawk and Ranger, Kinnear logged more than 10,000 hours of flight time and made more than 1,000 carrier landings. His combat decorations for valor included the Legion of Merit and four Distinguished Flying Crosses. He commanded CVW-2, the Navy’s first all-jet air wing, USS Spiegel Grove responsible for recovering the famous Apollo 13 lunar mission. As Commanding Officer of Miramar, Kinnear expanded the Naval Air Station to accommodate the transition to the F-14 Tomcat. After retiring, Kinnear served as Senior VP of Grumman International, interim President of the University of New Hampshire, and was on boards of several corporations including Compaq Computer, New England Digital Corporation and the Aerospace Corporation, and, he served as Chairman of the Board of The Retired Officers Association.