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Joseph Jacob Foss was born in 1915 on a farm outside of Souix Falls, S.D. The young farm boy was captivated by the exploits of Charles Lindberg, who had visited a nearby airport. He supported himself by waiting tables while attending the University of North Dakota. He earned a business degree in 1940, and at the same time managed to complete a civilian pilot training program.
He enlisted in the Marines as an aviation cadet, earning his wings a few months before Pearl Harbor was attacked. At 27 he was considered too old to be a fighter pilot, but after diligent lobbying he was trained on the new F4F Wildcat. He was sent to the South Pacific as executive officer of Marine Fighting Squadron 121 where he would fly the lead of two four-plane squadrons which became known as "Foss's Flying Circus". He racked up 26 aerial victories, equaling Eddie Rickenbacker's World War One record.
He was presented the Congressional Medal of Honor by President Roosevelt in May of 1943. The next month Captain Foss's image graced the cover of Life Magazine where he was identified as "America's Number One Ace."
He returned to South Dakota after the war, where he was elected to the state House of Representatives. His political career was interrupted when he was called to active service for the Korean war. In 1954 he was elected Governor of South Dakota and 2 years later was elected to a second term.
He became the first commissioner of the American Football League in 1960, a position he held until 1966. Foss became the first host of "The American Sportsman", from 1964-1967, and had his own syndicated TV show "Joe Foss: Outdoorsman", from 1967-1974.
Foss retired to Arizona in the early 1980's. Not one to be idle in retirement, he accepted the position of President of the National Rifle Assoc. (NRA) in 1988, which he held until 1990.
In Jan. 2002, at the age of 86 years old, Foss was on his way to board a flight to Washington DC at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport when he was pulled aside by security checkers. Notably skittish after the 9/11 terrorist attack, the guard examined the star shaped Medal of Honor Foss had in his pocket to use at a speech he was to give in Washington. He was allowed to proceed with the medal.
Foss suffered an apparent aneurism in the fall of 2002. He never regained consciousness and died in Scottsdale, AZ on Jan. 1, 2003.
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