Col. Ben A. Barone (USAF, Ret.), the Academies ninth superintendent, serving from 1974 to ’76, died Oct. 22, 2006, at his home in Greensboro, N.C. Col. Barone was 80.

The family will receive friends Thursday, Oct. 26, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Pugh Funeral Home in Asheboro, N.C.  Graveside services will be held Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Oaklawn Cemetery in Asheboro.

Col. Barone was born May 15, 1926 in Cleveland, the son of Italian emigrants. Raised in New York City, he enlisted in the Army Air Corps at the age of 17. During World War II, he served as a ball turret gunner on a B-17 based out of England. 

After the war, he was re-assigned to Greensboro, where he was processed out of the Army Air Corps. Col. Barone’s passion for flying led him to Piedmont Aviation in Winston-Salem, N.C., where he earned his private pilot’s license. Later, he was a flight instructor in Clio, S.C.  While in Winston-Salem he met a young school teacher, Nina Louise Trogdon of Asheboro. During their courtship, Col. Barone flew over her school during recess, dropping an apple on a parachute with a marriage proposal. They were married Dec. 20, 1947. 

Col. Barone was later accepted into the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet Program in San Antonio, Texas, which began a 27-year career as a U.S. Air Force officer and pilot. He served in the Air Training Command and was a bomber pilot in the Strategic Air Command. He was the executive officer to the Vice Command in Chief, U.S. Air Forces Europe, Weisbaden, Germany, and was the director of intelligence for the 16^th Air Force, Madrid, Spain.  A Vietnam veteran, he also served as director of Plans and Operations for Air Force Intelligence at the Pentagon. Col. Barone was decorated with The Legion of Merit with One Oak Leaf Cluster, the Air Force Commendation Medal, and the Meritorious Service Medal twice. He was a Life Member of the Air Force Association, an Associate of Hillsdale College (Mich.), and a Daedalion. He received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Omaha and a master’s degree in education from the University of California. He retired from the Air Force in 1974 to become the superintendent of the Culver Academies.

In addition to his wife, Col. Barone is survived by four sons, Ben of Providence, R.I., Steve of Destin, Fla., David of Greensboro, and Michael ’76 of Virginia Beach, Va.; a sister, a grandson, a step-grandson, seven granddaughters, including Rachel Barone’04; and a great-granddaughter.

Condolences may be made to the family online at baronepro@aol.com.