SCOUTING YESTERDAY | U.S. Post office gives Joe Foss rare defeat

This week in South Dakota history: May 2-8

Joe Foss. Photo: United States Marine Corps.

World War II pilot, future governor and Sioux Falls airport namesake, Joe Foss wasn’t done flying missions for his brothers-in-arms 75 years ago, according to the Lead Daily Call. In an attempt to be first in line to have their state bonus applications processed, Sioux Falls veterans had their paperwork flown to Pierre — in the overnight hours of May 2, 1949 — by the “Ace of Aces.”

Born on a farm near Sioux Falls, Foss saw his hero, Charles Lindbergh, fly the Spirit of St. Louis at a local airfield when he was 11. Four years later, he and his father would pay $1.50 for their first airplane ride. Attending the University of South Dakota, he earned his business degree and a pilot’s license, according to the South Dakota Hall of Fame.

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