There is a striking resemblance between Tom Cruise, who played Pete “Maverick” Mitchell in the 1986 film “Top Gun,” and the photo of a young Lew Hoyt, whose callsign was “Jumper” during his days at the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station in El Toro, Calif.

As a fighter pilot for the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy, Hoyt flew combat missions in the Vietnam War and later became a flight instructor at the Navy Fighter Weapons School, better known as TOPGUN.

In the movie, “Top Gun,” fighter pilots Maverick [Cruise] and Tom “Iceman” Kazansky [Val Kilmer] competed against one another for the TOPGUN award. Their goal was to beat the other and to be the best of the best.

Hoyt knows all too well about competitiveness and being the best of the best: It has been his rite of passage throughout his entire life.

“I have been competitive my whole life, even as a child playing a game of hide and seek or a game of Monopoly, I always liked to win,” Hoyt said.

University Athlete

Hoyt attended the University of Southern California on a track scholarship in the 1960s.

At the time, USC’s track and field team was among the best, according to Hoyt.

In his freshman year, he beat his personal record for the high jump.

“There was an Olympic coach in the stands watching,” Hoyt said. “I was hoping that he would say something to me because I broke my record of the high jump at 6’10”. I asked the coach if he saw me because I did my best. The coach asked, ‘What place did you get?’ I said, ‘second place.’ He told me to figure out why I lost and to tell myself that I will never lose to that guy who won first place again.

“He said that I was there to win, not to get second place. He told me that I should always do better and that I don’t even know what being the best is. That made a big difference.”

Hoyt’s unwillingness to accept second-best began, he said.

He won the National Collegiate Championship high jump. Hoyt was also an alternate member of the USA Olympic teams in 1964 and 1968.

During college, with the threat of being drafted into the U.S. Army, Hoyt said that he wanted a choice. He talked to all the branches of the armed forces and wanted to be an officer. After seeing the Blue Angels fly overhead during a performance, he knew then he wanted to be a fighter pilot.

“The Marines were the ones that said, ‘We are looking for the few, the proud, the best. Are you man enough to be a Marine?’ Yeah, man. I want to be the best. The Marines have a lot of pride,” Hoyt said.

Hoyt went to officer candidate school between his junior and senior years in college. The day he graduated from USC, he was commissioned a second lieutenant into the U.S. Marine Corps.

Flight School

Hoyt went to Pensacola, Fla., for a year-and-a-half of flight school and was No. 1 in his squadron. He flew with the best pilots in the Marines and learned. He was one of eight students selected to be a part of TOPGUN and became an instructor.

Hoyt wanted to fly with the Israeli Army, because he said that the Israeli fighter pilots were the best in the world.

“They are the best motivated and the best trained,” Hoyt said. “Man to man — they used to be better than the American pilots, however today they are about the same.”

Hoyt said the Israelis’ attitude was not welcoming.

“They sent me out with one of their junior pilots, to see what I had in me and I kicked his butt,” Hoyt said. “Then, they sent me out with their best pilots and I kicked their butt, too.”

Hoyt was the first person to fly with the Israeli Air Force and two Arab air forces: Egypt and Kuwait. He was at the top of his game, the best of the best.

After 23 years, he left the military and flew internationally for Delta Airlines for the next 25 years.

Throat Cancer

Hoyt and his wife Nancy purchased a home in Sedona in 1988, but officially moved here in 2003 when he retired from the airlines. In 2005, Hoyt was diag­nosed with throat cancer and as a result, had to have one-third of his tongue removed. After almost losing his ability to talk, Hoyt said that he wasn’t sure if he was going to survive.

“I remember saying, God, if I survive, I’m going to try to make a positive difference with people around me,” he said.

Hoyt decided the best way to make a difference was to help inspire athletes in high school. He became their motivational coach, encouraging kids to be the best that they can be.

“I love these kids. They’re the future of our country,” he said.

Jaiah Grondin

Jaiah Grondin, an athlete and 2021 graduate of Sedona Red Rock High School made a point to visit Hoyt during his leave from the Marines. Grondin recalls Hoyt’s visit to his freshman class and the impact it made. He said that he had wanted to join the Marines since sixth grade and Hoyt inspired him to serve his country.

Grondin said Hoyt showed up at the majority of his games.

“I played baseball, basketball, soccer, and swim,” Grondin said. “I did all those sports. And he always showed up to support us.

“It’s awesome to come back and share my stories of boot camp and compare it to his and to know that we’ve got another extension of our brotherhood.”

“After graduation, Hoyt was the first person I texted, thanking him for everything,” Grondin said. “Just giving us encouragement, knowing he had our back and just supporting us through everything. They’re just the little things of the biggest things.

“He gave us core values and he’s just been an inspiration, and a role model.”

Be humble, don’t show off and treat everyone like you want to be treated are words of wisdom that stuck with him, Grondin said.

“To be brave, be courageous and everything,” Grondin reit­erated. “Like I said, [Coach Hoyt] just made such an impact on our lives.”

“Nancy and I have no children of our own,” Hoyt said. “So to me, the kids at the high school are our kids. And so I’ve been blessed to be part of the coaching and the track team. I get to know the different coaches and they have me speak to their athletes. So it gives me a lot of joy to try and give back.”

Hoyt said he learned that there’s always somebody better, however, one can always learn.

“Surround yourself with good people — people that have a posi­tive influence on your life,” Hoyt said. “Don’t surround yourself with people that are into drugs and causing trouble. Surround yourself with people that you want to emulate. And, if you make a mistake, the good thing about making mistakes is you learn from them. If you learn from your mistakes, that’s how you get better.”

“I’ve been blessed to be around people that are smarter than me, wiser than me, those I’ve learned from and they’ve impacted my life in a way that every day I say, ‘God, thank you to have these people in my life now, Nancy in my life. I want to be around people that have been successful. And I’m going learn from their success,’” Hoyt said. “But you have to be able to believe, set goals and work harder than other people. If you want to be average, just do what everybody else does.”

That’s how you learn to be the best that you can be.

Who was the first TOPGUN: Cruise or Hoyt?

Hoyt said he was a consultant for the movie, reading over the script detailing its accuracy. He met Cruise and Kilmer.

“I asked Kilmer if he wanted to fly and he didn’t want to. I said, ‘what do you mean? You’re ‘Iceman’; you are supposed to be Mr. Macho,’” Hoyt said. “He said, ‘that’s for the movies. I’ll do the simulator but not the real thing.’ However, Tom Cruise flew as often as he could.”

Hoyt attended the 50th reunion of TOPGUN instructors in 2018. Cruise sent a video message thanking them for all that they have done for our country. He said it was a privilege for him to portray being one of them.

Incidentally, a sequel film, “Top Gun: Maverick” starring Cruise, Kilmer, Miles Teller and Jennifer Connelly is due in theaters this May.