Editing Joe Foss (section)

===Effort to become a fighter pilot===
Foss was accepted by the Marine Corps for flight school and commissioning. After graduation from flight school at NAS [[Pensacola, Florida]] he was designated a Naval Aviator and was commissioned as a [[Second Lieutenant#United States|Second Lieutenant]], in the Marine Corps. He was then assigned as a "plowback" instructor at [[Naval Air Station Pensacola|Pensacola]] teaching Navy, Marine, and Coast Guard students to be Naval Aviators. At 27 years of age, he was considered too old to be a fighter pilot, and was instead sent to the Navy School of Photography. Upon completion of his initial assignment, he was transferred to [[VMSB-151|Marine Photographic Squadron 1]] (VMO-1) stationed at [[Naval Air Station North Island]] in [[San Diego]], California. Dissatisfied with his role in photographic reconnaissance, Foss made repeated requests to be transferred to a fighter qualification program. He checked out in [[Grumman F4F Wildcat]]s while still assigned to VMO-1, logging over 150 flight hours in June and July, 1942, and was eventually transferred to Marine Fighting Squadron 121 [[VMF-121]] as the executive officer.{{#tag:ref|Although only 27, his squadron mates gave him the unflattering nickname of "Old Foos."<ref name="Miller p. 115"/>|group=Note}} While stateside, Foss married his high school sweetheart, June Shakstad in 1942.<ref name="Bauer p. 40"/>
[[File:HendersonMarineWildcatWatercolor.jpg|thumb|Watercolor of U.S. Marine Captain Joe Foss shooting down a Zero over Guadalcanal in October 1942]]