Capt. Young grew up on Nantucket Island in Massachusetts. He went to boarding school and graduated in 1936. It was then he decided to tour England, France and Germany on a bicycle. He evidently liked it over there so well he decided to attend college in England and Denmark from 1937 to 1940. He would eventually join the USAAF and became one of the original pilots of the 354th Fighter Group in the 356th Fighter Squadron. He would remain with the group from Santa Rosa, California to Salem, Oregon before shipping out to England and winding up at Boxed Airfield.
Capt. Young would fly 86 combat missions with the group claiming 3.5 air victories. He would also claim one forced landing in a "B" model P- 51and also bail out of another only to be rescued by the resistance.
He was fortunate to fly the escort mission of July 4, 1944, escorting Gen. Eisenhower and Gen. Queseda in the two seat, P-51B, "Stars Look Down" with Capt. Turner leading the group in "Short Fuse Salle" until he had to turn back with engine problems..
He would be decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Silver Star and several oak leaf clusters, also making the rank of Captain before leaving the service.
After the war he attended the University of Chicago where he would arrive on his usual mode of transportation, a bicycle all the way from Massachusetts in a total of 13 days. He would transfer to Reed College in Oregon where he was elected student council president in 1947. After a near fatal accident he would come to join the CAA and would end his career as a senior flight controller for the FAA at the Lees burg, Virginia FAA Control Center.
