Ron Bartlett - photos provided Retired US Air Force Colonel Ron Bartlett served from 1968 to 1995. Bartlett is originally from the Bronx, New York. At the age of 13, he met the woman who would become his wife, Carolyn, at a school dance. After high school, the couple got married and have been together more than 50 years. "Our friends would often say we can't see one of you without the other, because we went everywhere together," he said. Bartlett enlisted in the Air Force to avoid carrying an M-16 in the jungles of Vietnam. He ended up as a navigation officer on B-52s. Though he avoided the jungles, he flew over 100 combat missions throughout his career and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross. The award is given to flight crew members who stood out in combat flight operations by heroism and extraordinary achievements. Flying more than 80 missions in Vietnam, Bartlett flew two combat missions in the Linebacker 2 campaign, which is credited with bringing an end to the Vietnam War and secured the release of 591 American prisoners of war.