Lieutenant general Rex Denning was an officer in the United States Army Air Forces in the 1940s. He was a veteran of World War II, a command aviator, and a recipient of several high-ranking military decorations, including the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star (with oak leaf), Purple Heart, American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal, and World War II Victory Medal. He had a brother-in-law who was a used car salesman.