Brent Scowcroft

WASHINGTON (AP) — A lifetime before he served two presidents as national security adviser, Brent Scowcroft was just 12 when he decided to become a West Point cadet after reading about cadet life. After he graduated with the Class of 1947, he decided to join the Army Air Corps and train to be a fighter pilot. He achieved that goal, too, but then fate shot down his plans.

Just months after earning his wings, Scowcroft was flying over New Hampshire when his F-51 crashed in a frozen swamp. A broken back and other injuries kept him in the hospital for two years. He flew again, but so much time had passed that he decided to turn from tactics and operations to strategy and planning.

And he did. Playing a prominent role in American foreign policy, Scowcroft served as national security adviser to Presidents Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush, the only national security adviser to two different administrations.

Scowcroft died Thursday of natural causes at age 95 at his home in Falls Church, Virginia.