In August of 1952, some 1,143 Aviation cadets, student officers, student pilots, and pilot officers from virtually every state in the union and numerous foreign countries began gathering at ten pilot training bases to form USAF Pilot Training Class 53-F. This group of young men came seeking the coveted silver wings of a USAF pilot and the opportunity to join the great fraternity of the few --- the aviator...+

The class consisted of 858 American and 285 Military Defense Assistance Pact students. Of these, approximately 900 succeeded in gaining their silver wings. The careers that followed varied from the routine to the spectacular. Many served the mandatory tour and resigned. Others served for many years, retired and pursued second careers of varied types. Tragically, many have died... in combat, accidents, and from health problems. Probably our most notable classmate, Edward W. White, who became an astronaut, died in a capsule fire. Many of our Iranian classmates were assassinated in the coup of 1979.

The bond formed during the pilot training remains a strong one. A casual meeting between Jake Watson and Donald Condra in 1990 resulted in a sentimental journey back across the years to 1952-53 that generated desire to gather the class together once again. Their initial thoughts were to have a reunion of their training bases - Greenville AB, Hondo AB, and Webb AFB. But the idea caught on and they were encouraged to include all 20 bases and all classmates that could be located. So the search began for 53-Foxers. The first class reunion was held at Panama City Beach in October 1995 in spite of major adversity presented by hurricane Opal. Tragically, Jake Watson passed on during preparations for the reunion in 1998. His dedication to the reunion efforts never wavered and he continued working even on his final trip to the hospital. He was posthumously selected as permanent Wing Commander in 1998.

Unfortunately, the whole class reunion has not met the expectations of many Greenville, Hondo and Webb classmates. As a result, and in view of polling, it has been decided to continue with Jake and Don's original ideas and efforts and hold periodic reunions in addition to the whole class reunions. Since some in the whole class setup objected to information presented on the original Fox web, it has been removed and this site replaces it. Only Greenville, Hondo, and Webb will be included. Others, of course, are welcome to join this group and post to the web with proper permissions. 

The search is not complete. The included roster contains 262 names of entering students and may not include all. Of these, 75 are deceased, 58 have never been located, 8 have not been responsive to contact attempts. Address lists at this time is for 121 members. Remember, other Foxes are welcome....