Stephen Graf:
CLASS OF 1975
New Hyde Park Memorial High SchoolClass of 1975
New hyde park, NY
University of Alaska Class of 1994
Anchorage, AK
Embry - Riddle Aeronautical UniversityClass of 1986
Daytona beach, FL
Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteClass of 1985
Troy, NY
US Air Force Academy Class of 1979
Colorado springs, CO
Stephen's Story
Life
I live in Bellevue, Nebraska, just South of Omaha, near the confluence of the Missouri and Platte rivers. Why Nebraska? Well, as a retired Air Force officer, the last base I was stationed at was here in Omaha (Offutt). Instead of moving somewhere else when I retired, I stayed here. Not as exciting as the East or West Coasts but the people are friendly and the cost of living is good. I returned to Delta Airlines in October 2006 after a 5 year furlough (I was a "casualty" of Sept 11) and flew the MD-90/88 as a First Officer out of Minneapolis, MN. Spent almost half of my time on the road living out of a suitcase in hotels. My travels took me through Eastern and Western U.S., Mexico, and parts of the Caribbean. I've been a Nissan "Z" fan for most of my adult life. Started with a brand new '78 280Z Cadet car out of the AF Academy and later bought a used but pristine '86 300Z. In Sept '03 I finally got a brand new '04 350Z - LeMans Sunset! Bought a house in 2007 - it is near the Missouri River adjacent to a forest preserve. Its not uncommon to see deer and wild turkey wandering around my house. I've even seen a groundhog, fox, and skunk near my house and heard an owl in the trees near the house many times! The pesky racoons come out at night and love to leave me presents on my back decks! I have a lovely golf course behind my house and the view from the decks is awesome.
In my spare time I love doing stained glass and have several pieces hung in the windows. I enjoy riding my bicycles - a Trek hybrid and a Trek 1500 road bike. I also enjoy watching movies and have an extensive collection - in part courtesy of my 4-month deployment to Baghdad, Iraq. Also spent 3 lovely months in Karshi-Khanabad, Uzbekistan - just north of Afghanistan! I can tell you what "moon dust" looks like and spent the time amid depleted uranium and toxic chemicals.
I love to travel and have been to some very nice places as well as some not-so-nice places. I have loved going to Hawaii, Acapulco, and Spain where I have had timeshares. I'd love to travel to Fiji and Tahiti some day as well as other locations in Europe and the Far East. Been to Germany in 2007, 2009 and as recently as 2022.. Took my parents on the "vacation of a lifetime" to Southern Spain and Morocco. Took my Dad to Germany for a week in 2009. He was born there and hadn't been back since he left at the age of 3 months. Went to Maui and Kona in Fall 2009- it was fantastic! Watching the lava flow down the Kilauea Volcano, seeing the manta rays feeding at night, sunrise atop Mt Haleakalah, snorkeling at Molokini atoll, luau at Lahaina, and touring the Waipio Valley among many other things! Flew to Rome, Italy in Oct '10. Had a great time touring the Vatican, Roman Forum, Colosseum, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Naples, and Pompei! Enjoyed another trip to Kona and Waikiki in Nov '11.. Did a Caribbean cruise in Sept '12. Flew to San Juan, Puerto Rico and then sailed to St Thomas, Barbados, St Lucia, St Maarten, and St Kitts. It was a great trip. Went back to Hawaii in Dec '12 for a week in Honolulu - got to and from there Non-Rev. Went back to Big Island and Waikiki in Sept '13. In Jan '14 went on another cruise out of Miami. Sailed to Grand Cayman, Belize, Cozumel, and Roatan. This cruise was even better than the last one. In Sept '14 flew to Athens, Greece. Spent 4 days touring Athens and then did a 4-day bus tour to Corinth, Mycenae, Olympia, Delphi, Meteora, and Thermopolye. Returned to Athens and did a 1-day cruise to Aegina, Poros, and Hydra. Then flew to Istanbul, Turkey for 4 days. Stayed in the old city and toured Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, Blue Mosque, Basilica Sistern, Grand Bazaar and Spice Market. Did an evening cruise of the Bosporus, viewed a Whirling Dervish, and got a Turkish Bath. In Oct 2016 my girlfriend and I flew to Barcelona and did a 10 day Med cruise to Marseilles, Florence/Pisa. Rome, Naples/Amalfi/Sorrento, Heraklion Crete, Rhodes Greece and ending up in Athens Greece. It was a fantastic trip! My Dad passed away on 1 Jun '15. Later that year I took my girlfriend, Mom, 2 sisters and a brother in law to Kona and Oahu. Played tour guide and everyone had a wonderful time. Great trip to some neat places! Returned to Kona and Oahu with my girlfriend, Mom and sister in the Fall of 2018. In Nov/Dec 2019 my girlfriend and I went to Stuttgart, Germany to visit her son and family. We attended Christmas markets in Stuttgart, Esslinger, Hohenschwangau, Ulm, Strasbourg, and Colmar. We also did a trip to Triberg in the Black Forest and bought 2 cuckoo clocks! We traveled to Garmisch, Germany to see the Passion Play in Oberammergau which is performed every 10 years. We spent a week in Paris touring the Eiffel Tower, Louvre, Pere Lachaise Cemetery, Versailles. Sacre Coeur, Montmartre, and Moulin Rouge! We did an evening dinner cruise on a Bateau Mouche and got locked in a train station that night while trying to get back to our hotel near the Eiffel Tower! In 2023 we did cruise from Rome, Italy to Sicily, Ephesus, Santorini, Athens, Olympia and Mykonos. Before the cruise we staying in Rome a few days and took the high speed train to Pompeii for a 4.5 hour personal tour with an archaeologist. We also did a 14-day cruise to Alaska from Long Beach, California. This year we did another 7-day cruise of the Mexican Riviera out of Long Beach - all expense paid! We were so pampered! Later this year we will fly to Singapore, spend a few days, and then cruise to Borneo, Saigon, Manilla, Guam. Oahu, Maui and arrive in Long Beach! It should be the trip of a lifetime!
In Sept 2017 I upgraded to fly the Boeing 757/767ER. I flew it to new destinations such as London, Paris, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Zurich, Venice, Rome. Tokyo and Fukuoka Japan, Singapore, Guam, Beijing and Shanghai China, Incheon South Korea, and Honolulu. Covid 19 decimated the airline industry just as 9/11 did early in my career and I sat on the sidelines not flying for over a year though miraculously still being paid! I had to change airplanes and bases due to the Pandemic. I was scheduled to train on the Boeing 767-400, however the training got messed up and I retired in lieu of doing the training. It was the best thing for my health and well being and was only 8 months earlier than my FAA mandated retirement date (65th Birthday). All I can say is that retirement has been great so far!
You can find me on Facebook.
School
6 years in one school - where did it all go? Seems like overall I had classes with the many of the same people for most of that time. In retrospect, the education I got at New Hyde Park Memorial was excellent - especially in Math, Science, and Language. I applied and got accepted to Peter Cooper Union in Manhattan. I was also encouraged to apply for the military academies by my counselor - Mr. Charles Golding and was initially accepted to West Point. I was disqualified from the Air Force Academy because they were missing some of my test scores. My Congressman, Lester Wolff, later called and told me that someone had not t...Expand for more
aken their appointment to the Air Force Academy and there was an opening for me. At literally the last minute, I changed my mind and accepted the appointment to the Air Force Academy. When I initially went to the AF Academy, I took placement tests and tested out of Chemistry completely thanks to Mr. Stan Goldman. For a brief period I contemplated becoming a Chemistry major at the Academy but declined once I discovered how many additional classes it would take. I also placed out of Freshman calculus and took Sophomore math. That wasn't such a good thing because the Sophomores were responsible for training the Freshman. My sponsor was a Math professor at the Academy and guided me towards becoming a Computer Science major. It was something that fascinated me but was a very hard major requiring a lot of time spent in the computer labs! After 6 years of French in H.S. with Mr Whitebread, Mrs Flannery and Mrs Haig, the language classes at USAFA were an easy A! I was on my way to an exchange program with the French AF Academy but my GPA as a Comp Sci major wasn't high enough. C'est la vie! I can still speak French today and impress the flight crew with my fluency, but I'm a bit rusty. My experience in H.S. Band helped me to be accepted in the Air Force Academy Cadet Drum & Bugle Corps. We went all over the country - with the football team in the Fall and to other locations in the Spring, and had a great time!! My most memorable trip was to the 1976 Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade in New York City. I still occasionally attempt to play trumpet at church for special services.
College
Despite the comments in my High School yearbook, I attended the United States Air Force Academy instead of the United States Military Academy (West Point). I was in 40th Squadron - Ali Baba as a Doolie and then in 8th Squadron, Eagle Eight as an upperclassman. I majored in Computer Science and was active in the Cadet Drum and Bugle Corps during my first 3 years. I was fortunate to get a 3-week tour as a ranger at Philmont Scout Reservation during my Junior-Senior summer and had a blast. Going to Philmont had always been a dream of mine as a Boy Scout and Eagle Scout.. During my Junior year, I was an escort for the Debutante's Ball held at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. I spent one 3-week period during my summer break doing Operation Non-Com and shadowing enlisted people at Columbus AFB. I worked in Base Supply, Data Automation, and on the Flightline marshalling T-37s. I did Operation 3rd Lieutenant at Castle AFB where I was attached to a Fighter Interceptor Squadron. We spent most of our time there hanging out at the pool with the gorgeous lifeguards! I graduated with a B.S. degree in Computer Science. While I was a Lieutenant/Captain in the Air Force, I went back to school in my off-duty time and took classes on base from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. In August '85 I received my MBA from RPI - without ever having been on the actual campus! I also took the Flight Safety Officer's course from University of Southern California and graduated with a certificate. I used that for teaching Aircraft Accident Investigation and Safety Program Management for Embry Riddle Aeronautical University as well as an Introduction to Computer Science for Embry Riddle Aeronautical University at Griffiss AFB and University of Alaska Anchorage at Shemya, Alaska, .
Workplace
I initially retired from the Air Force in March '00. After my first retirement I flew Hawker 800XPs for a fractional company. In this job I flew wealthy owners to various locations throughout the United States such as Aspen, Vail, Palm Springs - to major airports, small commercial airports, and even some uncontrolled fields. Then I got my dream job with Delta Airlines and flew MD-88s out of NYC. I was a casualty of 9/11, and was furloughed from Delta for 5 years. I initially did some substitute teaching and collected unemployment. Then I got a sweet deal to go back on active duty for what ended up being a 4-year tour. This time, instead of flying airplanes, I was on the other side of the fence doing Mission Support Group work - I was the Deputy Base Commander. I handled the security forces (cops), civil engineering, services, personnel, contracting, supply, and transportation for the entire base. I enjoyed being only a 5 minute commute from home and going home from work each day. The lifestyle in Nebraska is great and the people are warm and friendly. Unfortunately the winters are cold and windy. I retired for the second time from the active duty Air Force in Oct '06..After chilling for a few months on terminal leave, I was called back to Delta Airlines. I returned in Oct 06 and initially flew the MD-88 out of Atlanta to locations across the Eastern United States, the Caribbean, and Mexico.
Military
I've been a pilot most of my career: flying T-41(Cessna 172), T-37, T-38, KC-135, EC-135, C-21(Lear 35), Hawker 800XP, Piper Navajo, Boeing 757 and 767ER, and E-4(Boeing 747) aircraft. According to my flight logs, I've accrued almost 14,000 hours of flying time between my military and civilian flying positions. Been to a lot of interesting locations in addition to the bases I've been assigned to. I have travelled all over the CONUS and also to England, Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy, Greece, Germany, Holland, Poland, Austria, Azores (Portugal), Panama, Mexico, Canada, Belize, Grand Caymans, Nassau, Jamaica, St Thomas V.I., St Croix, St Lucia, St Kitts, St Maarten, Grand Turk, Barbados, Dominican Republic, Honduras, Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire, Antigua, Tortola, Martinique, Alaska (closer to Russia than the US), Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Japan, Guam, Diego Garcia, Singapore, Argentina, Chile, Brazil, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Turkey, and Kyrgyzstan. Lots more places I still want to visit. I went on a 3-month tour of duty in Operation ENDURING FREEDOM at Camp Stronghold Freedom in Karshi-Khanabad, Uzbekistan. A year later I deployed for 4 months to Baghdad, Iraq as the Deputy Commander at Sather Air Base at the Baghdad International Airport. To say the least, it was a personal growth experience. I still remember the burn pits glowing at night and dumping ash and smoke on our camp - and the possibility of its toxic effects will haunt me the rest of my life. During my career I had some great assignments and met many outstanding people. I've been to places in the world few people get to see. I have been privileged to be the Operations Officer out at Shemya (far end of the Alaskan Aleutian Island chain), Commander of a C-21 unit (Lear Jets), and Commander of the E-4B (Boeing 747) Squadron. It has truly been great to work with such talented and motivated people! I finally retired a second time from the Air Force as a Lieutenant Colonel with 25 years of service though I would have stayed longer if they let me. In total I have 3 retirements - 2 from the Active Duty Air Force for 25 total years of service, and 1 from Delta Air Lines for 20 years of service. After all that time working, it's time to relax and enjoy life!
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