I think my interest in aviation goes back to grade school, nine, ten, early teens. When Lindbergh made his flight. He was the big hero. I started building model airplanes. Later, in the early teens, I used to ride my bike every Saturday morning to the nearest airport, ten miles away, push airplanes in and out of the hangars, and clean up the hangars. Get a free ride once and a while. Get to hold the stick once in a while. And that’s when my interest in aviation really started.At that particular point, there were really no aviation schools, as they have nowadays. There was not a lot of commercial aviation. We also knew it would be difficult, because of the financial condition of the family, for me to go to college. My dad was talking to a friend of his, who was a Naval Academy graduate, about my future and my interest in aviation. The chap said, “Little Alan is a fairly bright guy, and he could probably pass the entrance exams at the Naval Academy if he studied a little bit.” The Navy was just starting their air arm. “Maybe he could get into the Naval Academy, become a Naval Officer and go through flight school. Then he can go through college and fly airplanes at the same time. He could become an aviator and use his talents.” Well, the chap was right. I guess I did apply myself properly. I passed the entrance exams, got the appointment, and it just went from there.