Lieutenant Joel Korkowski graduated from Clear Lake High School in 1990. He was a member of the class of 1994 at the United States Naval Academy and graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in aerospace engineering. LT Korkowski was assigned as a pilot in the VFA-41 Squadron in California. In 2001, he flew for Operation Enduring Freedom over Afghanistan from the USS Enterprise. LT Korkowski was killed when his F/A 18F collided with another F/A 18F during a training flight in October 2002.

LT Korkowski is survived by his mother, brother, wife, and daughter.

LT Korkowski was honored through the Travis Manion Foundation’s Character Does Matter program presented during the USNA’s Summer Seminar and USNA STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Camp for rising 11th graders.