Paul Edward Mootz had a distinguished 30-year military career from 1959 to 1989. He initially trained as a medical corpsman at Ft. Sam Houston, Texas. Seven years later, he commissioned into the Army Nurse Corps as a 1st lieutenant. He transferred his commission to the Air Force in 1970 after serving in Germany. In the same year, he began training as a distance runner. His passion for running grew after finishing second at the 1971 Boston Marathon. He first broke the marathon 3-hour barrier in 1972 when he earned a 12th place overall at Toledo, Ohio’s Glass City Marathon. While in Europe, he was the U. S. Air Forces in Europe Distance Running Champion in 1973 and 1974 and the Continental Sports Conference Champion in 1975. He continued his medical career serving as chief nurse at Edwards Air Force Base, California, Maxwell AFB, Alabama, and Air University before retiring as a colonel in July 1989. He began his civilian career at Humana Hospital in Alabama and has worked at various other hospitals in the area. He currently serves on the Southeast Florida Association for Psychoanalytic Psychology Board of Directors. Veterans in Blue is a multimedia collection showcasing men and women who have contributed to the legacy of the Air Force.