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Colonel (ret) Richard Graham
graduated from the University of Akron, Akron, Ohio in 1964. He received a
master's degree in Sociology in 1977 and in Public Administration in 1979 from
Pepperdine University, Los Angeles, California.
Colonel Graham entered Air Force pilot training, receiving his wings in 1965 at
Craig AFB, Selma, Alabama. He remained at Craig as a T-37 Instructor Pilot and
Flight Examiner until 1970. Upon completion of F-4 fighter training, he flew 210
combat missions over North Vietnam and Laos from 1971-1973.
He was selected to enter the SR-71 strategic reconnaissance program in 1974 at
Beale AFB, California. He flew the SR-71 for the next seven years, amassing 756
hours in the worlds fastest and highest flying aircraft. In 1980, he was
selected to be the squadron commander of the SR-71 unit at Beale, where he
served until his assignment to the Air War College at Maxwell AFB, Montgomery,
Alabama.
In June of 1982, he was assigned to the Pentagon to work in Programs and
Resources as a strategic force programmer. In 1984 he was promoted to colonel
and selected to work in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force,
working closely on budgetary matters with the Office of the Secretary of
Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Air Staff.
In 1986, Colonel Graham was the Vice Wing Commander at Beale AFB. In June of
1987 he was selected to be the 9th Wing Commander. During that time he was
privileged to be able to fly the SR-71, U-2, T-38 and KC-135Q concurrently, for
over two years. During his 25 years of service, he amassed 4,600 hours, retiring
from the Air Force in 1989. His military decorations include three Legion of
Merit awards, four Distinguished Flying Cross medals and 19 Air Medals.
Upon retirement from the Air Force, he joined American Airlines in Dallas,
Texas. After flying 13 years at American, he retired in August 2002 as a Captain
on the MD-80 aircraft, with over 7,500 hours. He now spends his time as an
author, speaker, aviation consultant, and flight instructor. Col. Graham is
currently a mission and check pilot with the Civil Air Patrol squadron in
Dallas.
He has written two books, "SR-71 Revealed, The Inside Story," and
"SR-71 Blackbird: Stories, Tales, and Legends." A veteran of 15 years
of assignments within the SR-71 community, he is uniquely qualified to tell the
SR-71 story. Colonel Graham was the 1999 recipient of the University of
Nebraska's William F. Shea Award for his distinguished contribution to aviation.
He was selected to be a Distinguished Lecturer for the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics (AIAA). In 2005, the Blackbird Association awarded him the Kelly
Johnson trophy, a lifetime achievement award for his work to perpetuate, foster
and improve the SR-71.
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"SR-71 Revealed: The Inside Story" (Richard H. Graham)
Click on book cover to enlarge
Buy
this book. Written by a retired blackbird pilot who went on to head the entire
Program, this is THE book to get if you want to learn about the blackbird. If
you had a son who was accepted into the Program, wrote you every week and told
you everything that was going on, you would have something like this book
(assuming that your boy didn't land in the stockade for treason, of course).
It's all here... technical info, war stories, anecdotes, everything you were
looking for. Col. Graham donates the royalties from his book to the J.T. Vida
Memorial fund at the National Air Space Museum for the preservation of their
SR-71. You can order an autographed copy directly from the author by sending him
an email at habu5@verizon.net
********
"SR-71 Blackbird:
Stories, Tales and Legends" (Richard H. Graham)
Click on book cover to enlarge
As
an SR-71 author, Rich Graham's score is now 2-0. In his first book, SR-71
Revealed, he did most of the talking; this time out he's more of a moderator,
introducing 19 other "speakers" and offering background info where
appropriate. If you're tired of the same old how-high, how-fast blackbird fare,
then get yourself a copy of this book and enjoy. Sure, the blackbirds were
amazing pieces of hardware, but it was people who built them, and people who
made them what they were. Here you have those same blackbird people telling
their own stories in their own words --- it just doesn't get any better than
this. Col. Graham donates royalties from his book to the J.T. Vida Memorial Fund
at the National Air & Space Museum for the preservation of their SR-71. You
can order an autographed copy directly from the author by sending him an email
at habu5@verizon.net."
"It all begins with a
desire," writes author Col. Richard Graham in the first chapter of Flying
the SR-71 Blackbird, "a desire to fly the world's most secretive, highest
and fastest plane." For anyone who has ever wondered what it's like to fly
the SR-71 on a secret Mach 3 reconnaissance mission, this book has the answers
Flying
the SR-71 Blackbird: In the Cockpit on a Secret Operational Mission takes
readers on an operational mission that only a few U.S. Air Force pilots have
ever experienced. Col. Graham offers a rare cockpit perspective on how regular
Air Force pilots and navigators transformed themselves into SR-71 Blackbird
crews, turning their unique aviation talents to account in an unprecedented way.
Shown to the public for the very first time, the book includes the once-secret
SR-71 pilot's checklist.
The hardcover book is 288 pages and includes pictures/diagrams and the pilot's
checklist. Autographed copies of the books can be purchased directly from Rich
Graham. The book is $29.00 ($30.15 Texas residences) and includes postage. Send
a check to Richard Graham, 3501 Hearst Castle Way , Plano , TX 75025 for the
book. Be sure to include who to autograph the book to and a return mailing
address.
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