Willis Carl Jackson, born May 20, 1923, in Beverly, Massachusetts, served in the U.S. Army as a paratrooper with the 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment during World War II before completing a B.A. in History and an M.A. in Library Science at Florida State University. He rose rapidly through academic library leadership, holding key positions at the University of Tennessee, the University of Iowa, the University of Minnesota, the University of Colorado, Pennsylvania State University, and ultimately becoming Dean of Libraries at Indiana University. Deeply involved in professional organizations, he chaired committees within the American Library Association, helped establish the Midwest Regional Library Network, contributed to national library program panels, and consulted for universities in the U.S. and abroad. Beyond his professional achievements, Jackson was an avid sailor who fulfilled a dream by crossing the Atlantic solo in 1978; he disappeared at sea during his attempted return voyage in 1981 and was later declared legally dead.

Holden Chester Richardson (1878–1960) was a pioneering U.S. naval aviator and engineer whose work helped shape early American military aviation. A Naval Academy graduate, he became Naval Aviator No. 13 after training with Glenn Curtiss and quickly emerged as the Navy’s first engineering test pilot. Richardson played a central role in developing the Navy’s first seaplanes, designing improved pontoons and hulls, and creating early aircraft‑launching catapults. As part of the Navy Construction Corps, he helped design the Curtiss NC flying boats and later served as a pilot on the NC‑3 during the Navy’s first transatlantic flight effort, earning the Navy Cross and recognition from Portugal’s Order of the Tower and Sword. His later work as Chief Engineer of the Naval Aircraft Factory advanced carrier‑based aviation through innovations like the rotatable catapult, and he went on to become the first secretary of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Richardson died in 1960 and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery.