Strother was born in Winfield, Kansas, in 1908, graduated from Winfield High School in 1925 and attended Southwestern College, Winfield, until 1927 when he received a Congressional appointment to the United States Military Academy. Upon graduation from the academy in 1931, he attended Primary and Advanced Flying Schools at Randolph Field, Texas, and received his wings at Kelly Field, Texas, in October 1932.
