At the time this photo was taken in the 1980s, Tom Carper was Delaware’s at-large Representative in the House. But this youngster was probably more interested in Carper’s flight suit and the Navy P-3 anti-submarine patrol aircraft on display at this air show at the Greater Wilmington Airport in Delaware.

Carper, now the junior Senator from the state, then a Naval Reservist in his 30s, served as mission commander for P-3 flights. The Democrat served in the Reserves for 18 years, retiring with the rank of captain with Patrol Squadron 66 at Willow Grove Naval Air Station in Pennsylvania. He was on active duty in the Navy from 1968 to 1973, serving in Vietnam.