George Andrew Markham (1916–2009) grew up in the Oconomowoc area during a time when farmers plowed with horses and local fox hunters were once called upon to track down a marauding wolf. He attended Summit School, Milwaukee Country Day School, Deerfield Academy, and the University of Virginia.

As a young man, George lived large, excelling at horseback riding, track and field events, ice-skating, and ski-jumping. As the United States got swept into war, George left college to join the US Navy and trained as a naval aviator.

In 1942, he was assigned to the Pacific Theater, flew in the critical battles of Coral Sea and Midway, and was sunk off the carriers USS Yorktown and USS Lexington. As the war wound down, he was given the nerve-wracking assignment of flying with failing pilots and giving them one last chance to prove themselves. He retired with the rank of Lieutenant Commander.