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Brigadier General
Wayne A. Yeoman
Permanent Professor 1961–1972
Vice Dean of the Faculty 1968–1970
B.S., United States Military Academy
M.B.A., Harvard University
D.B.A., Harvard University
Wayne “Whitey” Yeoman, the Academy’s 10th Permanent Professor, was born in Sandborn, Indiana, in 1923. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point with the Class of 1946. He took pilot training in Chickasha, OK, then Stewart Field, NY. His primary training culminated at Williams Field (later Williams AFB, AZ). He flew the P-51 for a short time, but most of his flying career was in the Douglas B-26 Invader light bomber and ground attack aircraft (originally designated the A-26, later renamed B-26, but not to be confused with the Martin B-26 Marauder). He served at Langley AFB, VA, before being transferred to Japan. He was in Japan when the Korean War broke out in June 1950 and moved with his B-26 squadron to the west coast of Japan from where he flew sorties against targets in Korea. He flew low-level combat missions against North Korean columns and convoys, photo reconnaissance missions, and night interdiction missions against targets in North Korea (which he described as “pretty exciting”). He returned stateside in 1951, first to Langley, then to Shaw AFB, SC. He was sent to the Harvard Business School twice. He was first there from 1955 to 1957, earning his Master of Business Administration in preparation for duty on the Air Force Academy faculty. In 1964, he returned to Harvard for two years to continue his doctoral work; his Doctor of Business Administration degree was awarded in 1968. In 1957 he joined the Academy faculty as an Instructor of Economics, and in 1959 as a lieutenant colonel, he was made the Head, Department of Economics and Geography. He was appointed a Permanent Professor in 1961. He led the department through an interesting period of curriculum realignment. In 1966 the importance of the economics discipline was fully recognized, and the department was renamed the Department of Economics, while Geography became a distinct department. As Department Head, Whitey oversaw the establishment of academic majors in Economics and in Management, while supporting courses in International Affairs. He also established cooperative Master’s degree programs in these disciplines (Economics at Georgetown University and Management at UCLA). Among his many contributions, Whitey is credited with developing the financial rationale for building an airfield at the Academy. His team tied pilot retention rates to training costs and proved it would be beneficial to move the Academy’s T-41 flying training program from Peterson AFB to the Academy proper. His work secured the funding to build the Academy airfield, and as a result the Academy’s airmanship programs gained their own base of operations. Throughout his faculty years, he was an active aviator, flying the T-29 aircraft in support of the cadet navigation program. He served as Vice Dean, 1968–1970, then returned to the department until his retirement in 1972.
After his retirement, Whitey joined Eastern Airlines and worked in several business economics roles, including Senior Vice President for Finance and later Chief Financial Officer. In these positions, he guided Eastern through the very turbulent period of airline deregulation and beyond. He retired from Eastern Airlines in 1987.
Update (2022): Wayne Yeoman died at age 99 in 2022 and is buried in the Air Force Academy Cemetery.