Easton’s Jonah Bacon
nominated to attend Air Force Academy
By Scott Mitchell Johnson
Staff Writer
EASTON — An Easton High School senior has been nominated by Maine’s Congres-sional delegation to attend the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Jonah Bacon, the 17-year-old son of Randy and Paula Bacon, said he was nominated by Congressman Mike Michaud, and U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe.
“I had to send in a letter to request an interview,” said Bacon. “Then I had three separate interviews Nov. 21 in Bangor with committees representing Michaud, Collins and Snowe, and each interview lasted about 15 minutes. I also met with the liaison officer that day.”
Though feeling confident about the interviews, Bacon said the Michaud session was “definitely the most rigorous.”
“They were asking things like, ‘Define courage and define moral courage and which do you think is more valuable?’ I said that courage is hand-in-hand with stupidity. You can jump off a roof through a burning table and say you have courage, but moral courage is standing up for what’s right and what you believe in even if it’s not the favorable thing to do,” he said.
“The other committees were more interested in my background, what I was looking for in the Academy, why the Academy needed me, what I like and dislike in school, and positions of leadership I’ve held,” said Bacon.
To be considered for an appointment to a service academy, applicants must be nominated by an authorized nominating source, which includes members of Congress.
“We are proud to have the honor to nominate such an impressive group of Maine students to our nation’s distinguished service academies,” the senators said in a joint statement. “The young people we have nominated have earned this honor through a commitment to strong scholarship, leadership and character.”
Ironically, Bacon’s brother, Samuel, is currently attending the United States Coast Guard Academy.
“That kind of got me looking toward the military academies,” he said. “There are other people I know who have attended the Air Force Academy including Mike and Matt Osgood, who are from Easton, and I have a cousin that also attended there, so there’s a lot of influence to go there around me. I’d like to serve my country, and financially that school will really set me on a good path.
“I’m really indifferent on whether to make a military career or just as a normal civilian, but if I get accepted to the Academy, I’ll probably lean toward a military career,” said Bacon. “I want to look into piloting and I assume the Air Force is the cream of the crop for piloting.”
Bacon said Michaud called him personally to let him know that he would be nominated.
“I was pretty cheerful and very excited after that,” he said. “I also got letters from Sen. Snowe and Collins and that was the icing on the cake, but I don’t want to start fooling myself into thinking I’m already in. I’ve got to stay humble and have to have Plan B and C all set, which I do; I’m applying to local colleges.”
Bacon attributes much of his success to the Easton School Department.
“The school system produces almost perfectly well-rounded kids,” he said. “There’s so few of us at the school that we have to do everything; I’m active in the music program, math team, drama team, volleyball, soccer, basketball, I work part-time and I still make highest honors. The school pushes you to be a well-rounded student and I thank them for it.”
Bacon said he has completed the electronic applications, a physical fitness assessment and the interviews; now he waits.
“I hope to hear something in late March or early April,” he said.
Since 1958, the United States Air Force Academy has trained its cadets to serve as officers in the United States Air Force. Upon graduation, half of them will become pilots or navigators; others will begin technological and management careers.
