Graduation, Commissioning, and Kurt

Soon after Faith and I were married, I began my senior year at Utah State University. This year was filled with so many events and successes that were so significant that it is difficult to discuss them without making a list. Soon after school commenced, I was ordained a High Priest by Elder Delbert L. Stapley of the Quorum of the Twelve and set apart as second counselor in the Bishopric of the University Stake Third Ward. I was not yet 24 years old. The Bishop was Dr. Sterling Taylor, a professor in the university Agronomy Department. He was a deeply sincere, religious man who possessed great compassion for the youth of the church, but he impressed me as being quite intolerant of those human frailties one often refers to as sin. As I reflect on my activities as a twenty-three year old member of a Bishopric, I recollect the joy of being involved in spiritual matters. This coupled with my first year of married life made for a most pleasant experience.

I was also selected to be the Cadet Colonel of the AFROTC detachment and Commander of Arnold Air Society. I became enchanted with military activities and of the idea of becoming an Air Force officer. I had also been elected to the student senate to represent the independent students. These leadership responsibilities, in addition to academics and being a new husband, kept me extremely busy. However, the year went by extremely quickly and soon I was facing the prospects of graduation. Faith worked to provide an income with which to cover household expenses. I worked in the language lab for the same purpose.

In the early spring the campus advisor for the Fulbright Commission visited me and encouraged me to apply for a Fulbright Fellowship. I was less than enthusiastic about the scholarship since I was motivated toward being an Air Force pilot. I had finished summer camp at McChord Air Force Base, Washington the previous year as a distinguished graduate and I was looking forward to a regular commission in the Air Force. Nevertheless, I filled out the paperwork, went to state competition, and much to my surprise won the Fulbright for a year's study at the Free University of Berlin. This honor was quickly followed by others as the academic year drew to a close. Among these were selections as the university's Oscar Award winner as "Man of the Year,” nomination to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities, Blue Key, Distinguished Graduate of AFROTC, and other less significant awards.

The citation that accompanied my selection as Man of the Year read: Lynn has served the student body as Independent Senator and was instrumental in the organization of the Independent Council, which has been successful in generating interest among the independent students in campus government and activities. He has served as Group Cadet Commander of the Air Force R.O.T.C., was commander of the Arnold Air Society, was chairman of the Governor's Military Ball, was offered a regular USAF commission, he was appointed to Who’s Who in American Colleges and Universities, is a member of Alpha Sigma Nu, Blue Key, and Delta Phi. Mr. Hansen was recently awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for a year's study at the Free University in Berlin. As a scholar, a leader, a vital personality in campus affairs, Mr. Hansen is the recipient of the 1960 Utah State University Oscar Award as the Man of the Year.

All Air Force cadets who met the physical standards were expected to become pilots after graduation. I thought this was a splendid idea, but all my life I had had difficulty with motion sickness. Nonetheless, the idea of darting about the skies in a jet was enormously appealing. So I, like my colleagues, began a program of flight instruction provided by a local contractor at Logan airport. Ground school was a breeze. I learned about the Weems plotter and other tools used to flight plan. For reasons I did not understand, the chemistry between the flight instructor and me was not very positive. I did not like him sitting behind me criticizing the fact that I didn’t do stalls very well. The plane was primitive, an Aeronica champ, with an eighty-five horsepower engine. It had something called carb heat, a throttle, an altimeter, and an air speed indicator but little else. As soon as I began to solo, I liked flying a lot better. I was in charge. I flew to a small airport in Salt Lake County; I landed on a dirt runway in Preston, Idaho. This was great fun.

Then near the end of the training, we were forced to do spins in that small airplane. The instructor was with me. We climbed as high as that small engine would take us, pulled back the throttle, kicked one rudder pedal, and stalled the aircraft. Soon, I was looking straight down at the earth as we spun toward it. A terrible sound like the one heard when a plane is shot down in war movies accentuated our predicament. I was terrified. And I was sick; I vomited into my baseball cap. After we landed, the instructor got out and I flew solo for another half hour or so. My fondness for flying all but disappeared that day.

On June 4, 1960, I received a Bachelor of Science degree with a major in German and a dual minor of Russian and physical education. On the same day, I received a reserve commission as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force.

Pending entering active duty in the Air Force, I worked in the Logan, Utah city cemetery mowing lawns and digging graves. In fact, my oldest child's birth certificate identifies me as a cemetery caretaker.

When Faith did not become pregnant the first month we were married, I was disappointed. Without regard to any other consideration, I wanted a son. Consequently, I was overjoyed when she told me in the second month of our marriage that she was indeed pregnant. The two of us reveled in this event and looked forward with great expectations to our son's birth.

When school was over, we moved to Clarkston, Utah and we lived in Uncle Colleen and Aunt Sadie's house there. This arrangement served us very well, as we didn't have to pay much rent. The house was also nice and very comfortable. It had been the childhood home of my mother, so in a way it was a special place.

On July 29, 1960, Faith awakened me early in the morning with the news that the baby was about to put in an appearance. We drove to the Logan LDS hospital. I was consigned to the waiting room. After several hours of difficult labor, Kurt Lynn  was born in the early afternoon. The birth of a child is always a miraculous thing. For me it was also the fulfillment of a strong desire I had felt for years. My wife had given me a healthy, strong baby boy for which I loved and appreciated her greatly. Faith had gone through the pregnancy with hardly a whimper and even during the trying hours of labor, she was strong and brave as a Spartan.