Gary Shepard - Class of 1959
Gary served our country for 25 years as a fighter pilot in the US Air Force. He flew 100 combat missions over North Vietnam and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with eleven Air Medals.
In Vietnam, he did the planning for and leadership of 82% of the combat missions that he flew. His missions only lost one plane. They always hit their specified targets and never got lost. He was recognized as the most proficient air combat maneuvering pilot in his Air Command. He was selected as the Command Representative by a 4 Star General to represent him and the command at major unit deployments throughout the United States.
As a Lt. Colonel in the Air Force, Gary occupied leadership positions that were responsible for billion dollar inventories and directed flight programs that were the most dangerous in the world. In this position, he never lost a plane or pilot.
He led and directed the military employment and education of 56 allied officers representing 26 different nations within the United States Air Force Air Command and Staff College. He was responsible for the development and the delivery of 204 hours of formal instruction.
As an Air Force fighter Pilot, Gary was the 16th of a total of 21 pilots to ever earn the coveted Master of Air Defense Award. During that same time frame, he was recognized as the best air combat tactics pilot in the Air Command. Thus, he became the youngest Fighter Interceptor Squadron Operations Officer in the history of the Major Air Command. In addition, as an Air Division Fighter Officer Interceptor (FOI), he was the youngest in the Air Force to hold that title (he as a Captain while the other three were Lt. Colonels with years of seniority).
In combat, Gary’s flight team holds the world combat record for the most Surface to Air Missiles (SAMS) fired at a single formation in the history of aerial warfare. In the battle, the Viet Cong fired fourteen SA2 SAMS at his formation (the episode is covered in a 30 minute Wings TV program).
Gary Shepard - 1959 Homecoming King
Gary started displaying his leadership skills at an early age as a Boy Scout Patrol Leader while in the 7th grade. He served continuously as a member of student government throughout his junior high school and while at Anaheim High. As an eighth grade student and member of the Anaheim Youth Council, he briefed the City Council of Anaheim on an idea of how the city could help students find summer jobs. The mayor and city council embraced the concept and established the program. He also recommended that Disneyland stay open on both Friday and Saturday nights with live music to provide entertainment as well as jobs for high school students. He briefed the Disney representatives at the Disneyland Hotel on his ideas. He was awarded a huge box full of “E” tickets which were for Disneyland’s best rides. Disneyland later introduced “Date Night at Disneyland” but, Gary is not sure if his idea was the inspiration for “Date Night” or not.
Gary was also a star student athlete. Gary scored the first touchdown ever scored on the Western Junior High School Stadium field. That same year he set school records in the 660 yard dash and co-held several relay records with teammates. Gary was selected as the “Athlete of the Year” for the school.
Gary’s 51-year record for school’s 800 yard dash record at 1:57.4 (Huntington Beach Relays in 1959) was recently broken by a Colonist who will graduate in 2011.. Gary also ran on several school record-holding relay teams. As a college freshman at Colorado State University, he set a new university 880 yard dash record. He also co-held the Two Mile Relay record and the Distance Medley Relay with other team members.
As an 8th-grade public school teacher in Atascadero for 9.5 years, he was selected as the San Miguel School District Teacher of the Year, a difficult accomplishment and one that he earned within just the first three years as a teacher. He was commended by his principals and vice-principals for outstanding classroom management and leadership. Gary also coached football, soccer, track and field and basketball for a four year period.
Gary was responsible for a myriad of innovative educational activities and programs for school students and parents. For example, Gary flew almost all of the 5th through 8th Grade students at his school in order to expose them to other options for a career that they would not have had otherwise. He taught summer school, took students on field trips and, at the end of each school year, was responsible for taking the eighth grade graduates on a three day educational trip to Sacramento and San Francisco. His reputation as a teacher caused many home schooled students in Atascadero to enter the public school at eighth grade providing that they got into his class.
He served as Cub Scout Adult Leader for the State of Montana and as a Den Leader within a Cub Scout Pack, and was responsible for trebling the Scout enrollment in one year. He was recognized as “Cub Scouter” of the Year for the Lewis and Clark area of the State of Montana.
He provided one hour lectures on the prevention of heart disease throughout Montana and traveled to many other states providing lectures as well. He was responsible for major changes in the Coronary Artery Risk Evaluation Programs for the Air Force, Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Coast Guard and, US Reserve forces.
He structured a national level symposium at Malcolm Grow Medical Center, Washington D.C. where he provided the keynote address on the need to restructure the evaluation process for Coronary Artery Risk. He changed the awareness of military forces and provided better intervention in terms of discovery and treatment. He was responsible for the development of a onetime nationwide conference for the training of Air National Guard Advisors for all 50 states.
Anaheim High, its alumni, students and staff, are proud to induct Gary Shepard, Class of 1959, in the AHS Hall of Fame for his outstanding contributions to his community, country and alma mater.
