David Elmer Jeremiah was a United States Navy admiral who served as Vice Chairman and also acting Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

After his retirement from the Navy in February 1994, he worked in the field of investment banking. He served as partner and president of Technology Strategies & Alliances Corporation, a strategic advisory and investment banking firm engaged primarily in the aerospace, defense, telecommunications, and electronics industries.

During his military career Jeremiah earned a reputation as an authority on strategic planning, financial management and the policy implications of advanced technology.

Edward Postell King Jr. was a Major General in the United States Army who gained prominence for leading the defense of the Bataan Peninsula in the Battle of Bataan against the Japanese invasion of the Philippines in World War II.

King applied for and received a commission in the Army in 1908. He served with distinction during World War I, earning the Distinguished Service Medal. On July 9, 1918, the President authorized awarding the Army DSM to Major King, for exceptionally meritorious and distinguished services in a duty of great responsibility during World War I. As principal assistant to the chief of field artillery, from March 23, 1918 to November, 11 1918, Major King contributed largely to the successful solution of the difficult problems of expansion, organization, and training which then confronted the Field Artillery.

Between World War I and World War II, King held several important assignments including that of instructor in both the Army and Navy War Colleges. In 1940 he was sent to the Philippines where he was promptly promoted to Brigadier General; he served as General Douglas MacArthur’s second highest ranking ground officer, after General Jonathan Wainwright.

Eli Long was a General in the Union Army during the American Civil War.

Long served in the Western Theater of the American Civil War. At the outset of the war, on May 24, 1861, Long was promoted to captain in the 1st U.S. Cavalry. On August 3, 1861, he was transferred to the 4th U.S. Cavalry Regiment. On December 31, 1862, Long was wounded in the left shoulder at the Battle of Stones River while commanding Company K of the regiment.

On February 23, 1863, Long was appointed colonel of the 4th Ohio Cavalry, a regiment which recently had surrendered to the Confederate raider, Brigadier General John Hunt Morgan. Long improved the morale of the regiment and led it in the Tullahoma Campaign. He commanded the regiment’s brigade, the 2nd Brigade, 2nd Division, Cavalry Corps of the Department of the Cumberland between March 1863 and August 20, 1864, including service at the Battle of Chickamauga. Long was wounded in the left side at the Battle of Farmington, Tennessee, October 7, 1863. He was distinguished in the Atlanta Campaign where he suffered a head wound at the Battle of Jonesboro, Georgia, August 20, 1864 and wounds in the right arm and right thigh at the Battle of Lovejoy’s Station, Georgia, August 21, 1864. Long received brevet grade appointments as major, lieutenant colonel, and colonel in the Regular Army of the United States for “gallant and meritorious services” at the Battle of Farmington and Battle of Fort Sanders (Knoxville) in Tennessee and Battle of Lovejoy’s Station in Georgia, respectively.

On August 18, 1864, President Abraham Lincoln appointed Long a brigadier general in the volunteer army to rank from the same date. The President submitted the nomination to the U.S. Senate on December 12, 1864 and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on February 14, 1865. Between November 16, 1864 and April 2, 1865, Long commanded the 2nd Division of the Cavalry Corps of the Military Division of Mississippi under Major General James H. Wilson. On April 2, 1865, during Wilson’s Raid, Long was severely wounded in the head at the Battle of Selma, Alabama. During that battle he led the 2nd Division in a charge upon the entrenchments that resulted in the capture of that town.

During the Civil War, Long was wounded five times and also cited for gallantry five times. On January 13, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Long for appointment to the brevet grade of major general of volunteers, to rank from March 13, 1865, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on March 12, 1866.

On April 10, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Long for appointment to the brevet grade of brigadier general in the Regular Army of the United States, to rank from March 13, 1865, for gallantry at the Battle of Selma, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on May 4, 1866. On July 17, 1866, President Andrew Johnson nominated Long for appointment to the brevet grade of major general in the Regular Army, to rank from March 13, 1865, for his services during the war, and the U.S. Senate confirmed the appointment on July 23, 1866.

William Mann served the United States Navy as a rear admiral. He was responsible for adopting many different sets of procedures for treatment of wounded soldiers as well as naval evacuation policies.

John Sidney “Slew” McCain Sr. was a U.S. Navy admiral. He held several command assignments during the Pacific campaign of World War II.

McCain was a pioneer of aircraft carrier operations who in 1942 commanded all land-based air operations in support of the Guadalcanal campaign, and who ultimately in 1944-1945 aggressively led the Fast Carrier Task Force, in the Pacific Ocean theater of World War II. His operations off the Philippines and Okinawa, and air strikes against Formosa and the Japanese home islands, caused tremendous destruction of Japanese naval and air forces in the closing period of the war. He died four days after the formal Japanese surrender ceremony.

He was the father of Admiral John S. McCain, Jr.; they became the first father-son pair ever to achieve four star admiral rank in the U.S. Navy. He was the grandfather of U.S. Senator from Arizona and 2008 Republican presidential nominee Navy Captain John S. McCain III and the great-grandfather of John S. McCain IV. All four generations graduated from the United States Naval Academy.

John Mckone was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Air Force on July 31, 1954.

During the summer of 1960, John was the navigator on an RB47 reconnaissance aircraft based out of Forbes Field in Topeka, Kansas. He and his fellow air crew were deployed to England, and on one fateful mission his aircraft was shot down by Soviet fighters on July 1, 1960. Earlier that year, Frances Gary Powers had been shot down while flying a U2 cold war reconnaissance mission over the Soviet Union, so tensions were high between the United States and the Soviets.

As a Prisoner of War, he and the only other survivor from his aircraft, then Captain Freeman B. Olmstead, spent almost seven months in the infamous Lubyanka prison. Both were released from captivity on January 24, 1961.

In 1962, their ordeal was captured in an account by William Lindsay White, entitled, The Little Toy Dog: The story of the two RB-47 flyers, Captain John R. McKone and Captain Freeman B. Olmstead. He found himself on the cover of Time Magazine, and met with President John F. Kennedy. Upon their return, he and Olmstead were greeted as American heroes.

John was awarded the Silver Star for actions during the Cold War between July 1, 1960-January 24, 1961. Because of the sensitivity of his mission, he did not receive the award until later on in his career.

In addition to the Silver Star, John was the recipient of the Legion of Merit, the Distinguished Flying Cross and the POW medal.

General Thomas S. Moorman Jr. was vice chief of staff, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C.

General Moorman was born in Washington, D.C. He was commissioned through the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps program as a distinguished military graduate in 1962. The general has served in a variety of intelligence and reconnaissance related positions within the United States and worldwide. While stationed at Peterson Air Force Base, Colo., in 1982, he became deeply involved in the planning and organizing for the establishment of Air Force Space Command. During his Pentagon tour in 1987, he also provided program management direction for development and procurement of Air Force surveillance, communications, navigation and weather satellites, space launch vehicles, anti-satellite weapons and ground-based and airborne strategic radars, communications and command centers. He additionally represented the Air Force in the Strategic Defense Initiative program and was authorized to accept SDI program execution responsibilities on behalf of the Air Force. As commander and vice commander of Air Force Space Command, General Moorman was responsible for operating military space systems, ground-based radars and missile warning satellites, the nation’s space launch centers at Patrick Air Force Base, Fla., and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., the worldwide network of space surveillance radars, as well as maintaining the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) force.

Captain O’Grady is a former United States Air Force fighter pilot. On June 2, 1995, he was shot down over Bosnia by an SA-6 mobile SAM launcher and forced to eject from his F-16C into hostile territory. After nearly a week of evading the Serbs he was eventually rescued by Marines. Previously he took part in the Banja Luka incident where he fired upon six enemy aircraft.

The 2001 film Behind Enemy Lines is loosely based upon his experiences

Rear Adm. Retz was born in Blauvelt, N.Y., and attended the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque as an NROTC Scholarship student.  President of the Phi Delta Theta Fraternity and Commander of the Brigade of Midshipmen, he graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering and was commissioned in June 1963.  He later earned a Master of Science degree from George Washington University.

Retz served in numerous at-sea assignments including: Main Propulsion Officer, USS Taylor (DD 468); Operations Officer, USS Borie (DD704); assignment with the River Patrol Forces (Task Force 116 ) in Vietnam; Flag Secretary and Aide to Commander Amphibious Group TWO; Executive Officer, USS Ainsworth (FF1090); Commanding Officer, USS Stump (DD978); and Commander Destroyer Squadron Twenty-Two.  Retz’ service in the Atlantic, Pacific and Mediterranean Theaters encompassed key international events, such as the 1973 Middle-East crisis; Operation Game Warden in Vietnam; and the hostage crisis off Beirut.  As a Destroyer Squadron commander he was closely involved in antisubmarine warfare and in early tests of the Tomahawk cruise missile system, which later proved so successful in the Persian Gulf War.

Retz’ shore duty included tours as student, Cruiser-Destroyer Force Engineering School and Naval Destroyer School (graduating both with distinction); Naval War College, Newport Rhode Island and Placement Officer, Bureau of Naval Personnel, Washington, DC.

Retz  served several staff tours, including duty as Company Officer and Performance Officer, U.S. Naval Academy; Deputy Director, Surface Warfare Division, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (Surface Warfare); Head, Officer Community Management Section and Deputy Director, Military Personnel Policy Division, Office of the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations (Manpower, Personnel and Training); and Executive Assistant to the Chief of Naval Personnel.

Retz assumed duties as Deputy Director for Operations, United States Central Command in September 1987.  His responsibilities encompassed Persian Gulf escort and strike operations Earnest Will, Praying Mantis and Nimble Archer.  In the spring of 1989, Retz attended the National Defense University Capstone course enroute to his flag assignment as Director, Total Force Programming/Manpower Division (OP12).  Subsequently he was assigned as Assistant Chief of Naval Personnel for Military Personnel Policy and Career Progression (Pers 2) Retz commanded Naval Surface Group Middle Pacific and Naval Base Pear Harbor from July 1992 to September 1994.  While at Pearl Harbor Retz was responsible for several highly successful base transition initiatives including some detailed by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission.  Retz assumed command of Naval Base Philadelphia in October 1994, closed that complex on 30 September 1995 and transitioned to a civilian career.

Retz’ awards include the Distinguished Service Medal, Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (3 gold stars), Bronze Star with combat “V”, Purple Heart, Meritorious service Medal with gold star, Navy Commendation Medal, Combat Action Ribbon, Presidential Unit Citation, Meritorious Unit Citation and various campaign and service awards.