Forrest Shelton was born in Tuskegee, Alabama May 12, 1919. Evidence suggests that his first impression f airplanes was at age 3. His fascination with flying resulted in his first solo flight at age 15. With a friend, he established Triangle Airport, Tuskegee's first airfield. It was later named Kennedy Field and was the first site used by Tuskegee Institute for training the Tuskegee Airmen. Forrest became one of the first primary flight instructors and, with his colleagues, trained the first 1000 of the Tuskegee Airmen. He then went on active duty with the Army Air Corps in 1942 and completed their flight training program. He then flew 85 missions, flying "the Hump" in the China-Burma-India theater.

Following the war, he became one of the first pilots for Piedmont Airlines, where he flew for 32 years, retiring as Chief Pilot for their Atlanta Base of Operations. He amassed 28,000 flying hours. Due to his excellent reputation as a pilot, he had the honor of flying many celebrities, including Presidents Eisenhower and Kennedy.