Different Paths
Lead to Wall of Fame

Tulare - The life journeys of Gerald Benton and Alan Wiechman's led them down different career paths but now the men are linked forever as the first inductees onto Tulare Western High School's Wall of Fame.

The two were inducted during an outdoor evening ceremony Oct. 29 on the campus of Tulare Western, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Benton, class of 1962, is well-known here because he worked 39 years for the Tulare Joint Union High School District, spending the last eight years – from 1998 to 2006 – as its superintendent.

During his administration, test scores rose and for several years both Tulare Union and Tulare Western high schools ranked one and two alternately among Tulare County schools, former Tulare Adult School Principal Dan Neppel said in introducing Benton. He also played a major role in planning, designing and getting a general obligation bond approved for the new Mission Oak High School.

Unlike Benton, Wiechman's name is not as well-known locally. That is because the 1967 Tulare Western graduate made his mark in the world of national defense, where he is considered a pioneer in the development of low observables – or stealth – aircraft and ship design.

Currently vice president of Phantom Works Integrated Defense Systems for the Boeing Company, he is credited with giving the U.S. a 15-year lead over potential adversaries, retired Tulare Western Principal Vern Barlogio said.

'Surprised, Honored'

Both men spoke to family, friends, students and faculty that came to honor them.
“I was surprised, honored and humbled by this whole thing,” Benton said, adding he was especially honored to be listed with Wiechman, whom he called “a very accomplished individual.” Benton also noted he had worked with Wiechman's mother, the late Anita Wiechman, for many years.

“When I say Tulare Western, I don't mean a place,” Benton said. “I mean all the great people who have staffed this place.” He recalled the late Bill Nye, who hired him in 1970 as an English and history teacher; Alice McGill, who “tried to put some finer touches on me,” counselor Race Kent, English teacher Prudence Olsen and Glen Lewis.

Before returning to Tulare Western, Benton earned his bachelor's degree at Whittier College in 1966 and then a master's degree and teaching credential at University of California, Santa Barbara. He also served in the Army.

In 1974 he became assistant principal at Tulare Western and in 1979 went to the district office as director of state and federal programs. He later served two tours as principal of Tulare Western. As assistant superintendent of business and superintendent, he oversaw the renovation of Tulare Union and Tulare Western, the construction of new swimming pools and mini-gyms at the schools.

He also created the concept of the district as “a sanctuary for learning.”
He and his wife, Ruth, have two adult children, Amy and Alan Benton.

Hard Day's Work

Wiechman, who was born in La Jolla and moved here with his parents, Laddie and Anita, when he was 3 years old, recalled lessons learned while growing up on a ranch and attending Oak Valley School, Tulare Western and then College of the Sequoias.

“Every day you got up early, did your chores and then went to school,” he said, recalling that by age 12 he was running cotton pickers and plows. He discovered that putting in “a hard day's work was fun.”

His experience going from Oak Valley to Tulare Western was a good one because the adults in his life prepared him for change and helped him fit in, he said, explaining that taught him the mentoring “was very important for all people.”

From COS, he went to Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, where he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering in 1972.

His first job was with Vitro Laboratories, a division of Automation Industries. “I spent 18 months out of the country, having fun but working hard because I have that background,” Wiechman said.

From 1977-1981 he worked in the Skunk Works at Lockheed on a variety of advanced programs that included the Sea Shadow, a stealth ship, and the F-117A Nighthawk, a stealth fighter plane.

In 1981, he was hired by McDonnell Douglas to develop future low observables technology.

From 1992 to 2000 he was director of signature, design application, advanced military aircraft and missiles phantom works at Boeing. Then from 2000 to 2004 he was director of proprietary programs within Integrated Defense Systems. Prior to his current position, he was vice president for Advance Global Strike Systems.

Wiechman is known as “Father of the Bird of Prey,” a technology demonstrator that advanced new stealth concepts and is displayed next to the Wright brothers' Kitty Hawk Flyer in the U.S. Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio.

His national awards include the National Defense Industrial Association Technical Award in 2001, the Pioneer of Stealth Award in 2004 and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics National Engineering of the Year for Design in 2008.
Wiechman, his wife, Donna, and children Megan, 19, and Ryan, 17, live in Missouri.

The above story is the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.