On July 4, 1986, while most Americans celebrated Independence Day with fireworks and barbecues, Marine Lance Corporal Howard A. Foote Jr. marked the occasion in a way no one could have anticipated.
The 21-year-old mechanic from El Toro Marine Corps Air Station in California took an A-4M Skyhawk, a military jet worth $18 million at the time, for an unauthorized and unforgettable flight.
Foote,...