Sam Porter Young Jr.

He was a patriot. A man who loved his country and who used his skills to the maximum in the service of the United States Air Force. He always demonstrated to his family his innate beliefs of integrity, honor, respect, sense of responsibility, love of family and country. And he did so with a generous addition of humor.

Sam Porter Young, Jr. was born August 19, 1927, in Winter Haven, Florida, to Vera Ovesta Higginbotham and Sam Porter Young. His family soon moved to Miami, and during his high school years, he realized his passion to serve the military. He spent time in the Coast Guard, the Merchant Marines, the Naval Reserve.

A graduate of the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, he was a member of Phi Gamma Delta and Alpha Kappa Psi. With his aunt, he managed a popular resort hotel in Idaho but returned to Miami to join the USAF. After training, he was sent to Korea to the 51st Fighter Interceptor Jet Wing where he flew an F86. He was credited with downing the last MIG during the Korean Conflict and received the Distinguished Flying Cross in 1953, the Korean Service Medal, and the Republic of Korea Presidential Unit Citation. He was also a recipient of the World War II Victory Medal and other citations.

His next assignment was to the Air Education and Training Command at Lackland AFB in San Antonio,Texas. Being a member of Phi Gamma Delta, he invited some Texas alums to a party at the Officers Club. That friend further invited a brother fraternity member whose date was Maurine Mitchell. A romance followed and Sam and Maurine married on April 30, 1955.

Schooling in the Squadron Officers School at the Air University at Maxwell AFB, Montgomery, Alabama, was quickly followed by the position of instructor in the same school where he received the Old Guard Trophy, awarded once a year for outstanding SOS instructor. From Command and Staff School he was designated as the Distinguished Graduate.

After an intensive course in Spanish at the Foreign Service Institute for him and his wife, he was assigned in to the US Mission in Cordoba, Argentina, as advisor to the Argentine AF Academy. Two years later he was sent to Buenos Aires where he was attached to the US Embassy for almost two more years.

In 1969 he returned to San Antonio and the Military Assistance Training Program, DCS/Plans, Headquarters Randolph AFB. In this capacity he represented HQ ATC as Worldwide Training Consultant in USAF MAPT Refinement Conferences.

His final tour of duty was as an advisor to the Panamanian Air Force and as acting air attache. His duties also included liaison with the General Staff of the Guardia Nacional and as focal point for coordinating all military affairs between Panama and the US Armed Forces in the Canal Zone.

Sam Young retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in June 1974 in Panama. He worked with the US Department of Agriculture in Colombia, and in partnership with an airplane parts business before returning to live in San Antonio. He worked as a real estate agent and later for the Bexar Appraisal District.

He is survived by his wife, Maurine, and by sons Brian (Rachel), Robert (Amber), and daughters Rebecca (Randy ) and Jennifer. Grandchildren are Sarah, Jack (Lauren Taylor), Jessica (Sean), and Taylor (Jamie ). Great-grandchildren are August, Sam, and Carson. Other survivors include: sister Shirlee Lumb, nieces Julie Ann, Linda Lee, nephew Scott, and step-grandchildren Hunter and Grace.