Justin “Jay” Strauss is being posthumously inducted into the R.I. Aviation Hall of Fame on Nov. 19, 2022.
He is being honored for his outstanding military career as well as his illustrious charitable civilian flights, spanning 65 years and 12,000 hours.
He was a 1st Lt. in the US Air Force from 1954-1958, serving in the Strategic Air Command division flying the KC97 multi-engine aircraft and refueling airborne combat jets. He was also proficient in flying single-engine aircraft.
Strauss, a native Rhode Islander and former editor of the Jewish Herald, was the subject of a 2014 article in the then Jewish Voice, “A Man with a Mission.” You can read it at jewishrhody.com/stories/a-man-with-a-mission,2889?
He is part of the 20th group of honorees. The R.I. Aviation Hall of Fame is having an in-person event this year for the first time since 2019. For more information, go to riahof.org.