Alan Holmes

Alan Holmes was born in 1930 in Paris, where he subsequently lived for ten years. Educated in France, England, and Canada, he eventually attended Yale University, where he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering. At Yale, he also placed much emphasis on writing. During the Korean War, he served in the US Army and became a US citizen. His remarkable career includes working as a missile test engineer for the US Army, field superintendent on a large construction site,...See more

Alan Holmes was born in 1930 in Paris, where he subsequently lived for ten years. Educated in France, England, and Canada, he eventually attended Yale University, where he earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering. At Yale, he also placed much emphasis on writing. During the Korean War, he served in the US Army and became a US citizen. His remarkable career includes working as a missile test engineer for the US Army, field superintendent on a large construction site, senior structural engineer at a major architectural firm, and staff scientist at an aerospace company. Specializing in unusual edifices, Holmes was in charge of the structural design and analysis for the US Air Force Academy Chapel, as well as for all of the different freestanding spiral staircases at the academy. In the sixties and seventies, Holmes even designed and built his own sailboat and an adobe house. Now in retirement, Holmes enjoys photography, painting, cycling, and writing his memoirs. His first book, "In the Moon" about his highly humorous, lighthearted childhood years in France brought on a flood of letters of praise and appreciation. See less