Colonel Rich “Bucky” Mendelow was born in Johannesburg, South Africa. His family immigrated to the U.S. in 1976. He attended James E. Taylor High School in Katy, Texas and entered the Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps at Duke University in 1984. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in 1988 and following infantry training at The Basic School, in Quantico, Virginia, he received orders to Pensacola, Florida for Flight School. He received his Naval Aviator’s wings in March 1991. He flew the EA-6B Prowler and after numerous deployments, left active duty in 1997 to pursue a career as an airline pilot.

In 2008, Major Mendelow returned to the Marine Corps Reserves. Later that year, he reported to Camp Lejeune, NC for deployment to Iraq with the Second Marine Expeditionary Force. In June 2010, Major Mendelow reported to Camp Pendleton, CA for deployment to Afghanistan as a Border Advisor Team Leader with the First Marine Expeditionary Force. While deployed to Afghanistan, he completed over 200 patrols in 210 days. In 2013, he deployed to Afghanistan again, this time as the Executive Officer of a combat assault support squadron. Lieutenant Colonel Mendelow flew 20 combat missions and over 80 combat flight hours. He was promoted to Colonel in 2017 and spent the last five years of his career working on Marine Corps’ cultural initiatives. He retired from the Reserves in 2022 after a career which spanned five decades. His personal decorations include the Bronze Star, Air Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Navy & Marine Corps Commendation Medal, Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and Combat Action Ribbon.