Vaughn Denning was raised in Idaho, the second of four sons. (All four brothers served in the armed forces at the same time in four different branches of the service.) Vaughn played the trombone in high school and became an apprentice cabinetmaker, expecting to earn his living in that specialty.

The December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor significantly redirected his life. Vaughn decided to finish his senior year of high school and then enlist. Within a year, he had earned his wings as a pilot in the Army Air Corps and was taking the initial steps to becoming a test pilot. This led to a flying career of over thirty years.

Vaughn graduated from Test Pilot School at San Antonio, Texas, in early 1945 and performed as a test pilot for several years with various commands. This experience included flying the first U.S. built jet-powered airplane in January 1945.
 

During his 32 years in the Air Force, he flew 48 different types of airplanes, flew noted VIPs and historical figures, participated in atomic bomb tests, spent ten years at the Pentagon at Air Force Headquarters and a top agency of the Department of Defense, and ended his military career managing exciting space activities.

While in the service, Vaughn obtained a Mechanical Engineering Degree from the University of Idaho and an MBA from George Washington University. He is also a graduate of the Test Pilot School, the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, the Command and Staff College, and is the recipient of three Legions of Merit.

Following his military career, Vaughn spent 17 years in the aerospace industry at TRW's Space Division in Manhattan Beach, California. He now resides in Rancho Mirage in "golf heaven" with his wife, Jean, and volunteers as a docent at the Palm Springs Air Museum.

Vaughn is Dad to four sons and Grandpa to eight grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.