WWII ACE, MEDAL OF HONOR WINNER, GOVERNOR OF SOUTH DAKOTA JOE FOSS AUTOGRAPH


Autograph on a magazine page of The Man's Magazine "True" on page 36 for an article The Great White Bears of Kotzebue" signed in black marker.

Measures 8 1/2 " x 11"

In very good condition, normal age toning throughout magazine torn at staple upper left spine.

Joseph Jacob Foss (April 17, 1915 – January 1, 2003) was a United States Marine Corps major and a leading Marine fighter ace in World War II. He received the Medal of Honor in recognition of his role in air combat during the Guadalcanal Campaign. In postwar years, he was an Air National Guard brigadier general, served as the 20th Governor of South Dakota (1955–1959), president of the National Rifle Association of America (NRA) and the first commissioner of the American Football League. He also was a television broadcaster.

Early years

Foss was born in an unelectrified farmhouse near Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the oldest son of Mary Esther (née Lacey) and Frank Ole Foss. He was of Norwegian and Scottish descent.[2] At age 12, he visited an airfield in Renner to see Charles Lindbergh on tour with his aircraft, the Spirit of St. Louis. Four years later, he and his father paid $1.50 apiece to take their first aircraft ride in a Ford Trimotor at Black Hills Airport with a famed South Dakota aviator, Clyde Ice.

In March 1933, while coming back from the fields during a storm, his father was killed when he drove over a downed electrical cable and was electrocuted as he stepped out of his automobile.[4] Young Foss, not yet 18 years old, pitched in with his mother and brother Cliff to continue running the family farm.[5] Farming was made difficult by dust storms, which over the next two years took its toll on crops and livestock.

After watching a Marine Corps aerial team, led by Capt. Clayton Jerome, perform aerobatics in open-cockpit biplanes, he was determined to become a Marine aviator.[6] Foss worked at a service station to pay for books and college tuition, and to begin flight lessons from Roy Lanning, at the Sioux Skyway Airfield in 1938, scraping up $65 to pay for the instruction. His younger brother took over the management of the farm and allowed Foss to go back to school and graduate from Washington High School in Sioux Falls. He graduated from the University of South Dakota in 1939 with a degree in business administration.

While at USD, Foss and other like-minded students convinced authorities to set up a CAA flying course at the university; he built up 100 flight hours by graduation.[5] Foss paid his way through university by "bussing" tables. He joined the Sigma chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity and excelled at sports in USD, fighting on the college boxing team, participating as a member of the track team and as a second-string guard on the football team.

Foss served as a Private in the 147th Field Artillery Regiment, Sioux Falls, South Dakota National Guard from 1939 to 1940. By 1940, armed with a pilot certificate and a college degree, Foss hitchhiked to Minneapolis to enlist in the Marine Corps Reserves, in order to join the Naval Aviation Cadet program to become a Naval Aviator.


PLEASE DO NOT WASTE OUR TIME BY WINNING AN ITEM AND NOT PAYING FOR IT!! YOU WILL BE REPORTED TO EBAY AND BLOCKED FROM OUR AUCTIONS!!!  ALSO WE WILL NOT ACCEPT ANY BIDS FROM 0 FEEDBACKS, THEY WILL BE CANCELLED!

NO RESERVE

CELEBRATING 27 YEARS IN BUSINESS!!

Terms of Sale:   

PLEASE READ!!

1. Payment is due within 4 days of the close of this auction.  We are set automatically on Unpaid Bidder Assistant.

2. EBAY COLLECTS THE SALES TAX

3. If you have any questions, please ask prior to bidding. 

4. All items are guaranteed authentic. COAs issued upon request.  (Only for signed items)
    You can buy with complete confidence.

5. Buyer pays for shipping. (combine shipping for multiple items)

PLEASE NOTE IF BIDDING OUTSIDE OF THE U.S. - WE ONLY SHIP THROUGH EBAY'S GLOBAL SHIPPING PROGRAM SO PLEASE READ AND UNDERSTAND THEIR TERMS AND CONDITIONS!!

Thanks for looking and Good Luck bidding!

The Inkwell Autograph Gallery