HERITAGE MINUTE

Do you know who the U.S. Air Force Academy’s Stillman Field is named after? What about the milestones that take place there? Do you know what the mass of lush green grass’s name was before, in 1994, it earned its current moniker? Find the answers to these questions (and more you didn’t know you had) in this Heritage Minute.

In this Heritage Minute Special, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Steve Simon ’77 is joined by Col. (Ret.) Max Miller ’59, a proud member of the U.S. Air Force Academy’s first graduating class. They discuss a significant event that occurred 70 years ago, as well as Col. Miller’s long and distinguished service to the Air Force and the USAFA community.

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation

From sweat-soaked pages in Jacks Valley to ceremonial handoffs at the Acceptance Day Parade, Contrails is more than a handbook — it's a rite of passage at the U.S. Air Force Academy. Dive into the legacy in this edition of Heritage Minute!

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation

In Part 2 of this 3-part series, Heritage Minute Special host, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Steve Simon ’77, gets his conversation started with Mr. Duane Boyle, recently retired USAFA architect, a position he held for many years. The two discuss Mr. Boyle's role as the Academy’s Architect, his work and impact, specific projects, and their shared experiences having worked together over the years going back to the 1980's.

You don't have to wait for all parts to publish. You can listen to the full 1 hour and 22 minute conversation at your convenience here:  https://mcdn.podbean.com/mf/web/49y8c5jbsc9aadew/HMS_PARTS_1-3_DUANE_BOYLEajqmk.mp3

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation

For graduates and cadets who trained here as basics, Jacks Valley will always occupy a special place in our memories.  Here, we crawled in the mud, fought with pugil sticks, experienced tear gas, climbed obstacles, and did many other things for the first time in our lives.  The Jacks Valley real estate was not part of the originally envisioned Academy installation.  Prescient planners, however, wanted more land as a buffer.  They feared that in decades to come, development and population encroachment would press up against the Academy.  Of course, time has proven them to be correct.  They added one valley to the south – Pine Valley – and one to the north – Jacks Valley.  This enclave gets its name from the people who were on the land before the Academy’s arrival: Cleo and Zelda Jack, who had owned the 480-acre ranch since 1942.  Ironically, they were only in the valley that now bears their name because they had been ousted from their previous ranch.  The Jacks moved to Colorado from the Socorro, New Mexico, area after their property was acquired by the government to make room for atomic bomb development and testing.  While the Academy used the valley for other military purposes – a skeet range opened here on 28 May 1960 – it wasn’t until 1966 that it became the Basic Cadet Training encampment.  On 25 July 1966, members of the Class of ’70 marched to the training site from the Cadet Area, claiming the distinction of being the first class to have the Jacks Valley experience we know today.  They received training in individual combat techniques, outpost duties, day and night patrols, fire and movement, individual firing positions, and first aid. While the general experience has endured, training has evolved, and other changes have taken place.  For example, basics no longer pitch tents to sleep in.  The Jacks Valley Mitchell Hall is also a building rather than a tent.  In 2019, something new and exciting for graduates began: participation in the annual Jacks Valley March Back.  That year, approximately 200 Academy graduates were the first alums to accompany basics and their cadre on their return to the Cadet Area from Jacks Valley.  Grads ranging from the Classes of 1961 to 2019 marched with members of the Class of ’23 that day.  Thirty-one members of the Class of ’59, at USAFA to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of their graduation, awaited them at the Class Wall.  The tradition continues to this day.

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation

In Part 1 of this 3-part series, Heritage Minute Special host, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Steve Simon ’77, gets his conversation started with Duane Boyle, recently retired USAFA architect, a position he held for many years. The two discuss Duane's role as the Academy Architect, his work and impact, specific projects, and their shared experiences having worked together over the years going back to the 1980's.  

You don't have to wait for parts 2 and 3 to publish. You can listen to the full 1 hour and 22 minute conversation at your convenience by CLICKING HERE

Thank you for listening!  

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation

In August 1958 when the Academy completed its move from Lowry Air Force Base in Denver to this permanent location, the cadets first accessed the cadet area by marching up this ramp. ----more----

Arriving cadets have been doing so ever since. Every summer, appointees assemble on the footprints, get welcome with their first taste of Academy hospitality, and then head up the ramp to begin their Cadet careers in 1964 the words, "Bring Me Men" were mounted above the ramp in two foot high aluminum letters. The phrase is from a poem about westward expansion written by Samuel Walter Foss entitled The Coming American, first read at a fourth of July celebration in Connecticut in 1894 it contains the lines, "Bring me men to match my mountains. Bring me men to match my plains. Men with empire in their purpose and new eras in their brains." The words began to seem incongruous in 1976 when female cadets enrolled for the first time, as demonstrated by the iconic photo of appointee Julie Richards at in-processing. After decades of discussion and controversy, on March 28, 2003 the phrase Bring Me Men was removed from its spot over the battle ramp. On September 29, 2004 the words "Integrity First, Service Before Self, Excellence in all We Do, were unveiled above the ramp. A black gate protecting the ramp was added in 2001 is the result of security measures instituted in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Before then, the ramp was wide open.

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association & Foundation

The Air Force Academy cemetery is the only active base cemetery in the Air Force. In that regard, the USAFA cemetery is similar to the West Point and Annapolis cemeteries, which are also operated by their parent services, and the Arlington National Cemetery, which is administered by the Army. Consequently, the Academy cemetery has unique criteria for burial eligibility is outlined in Headquarters United States Air Force Academy instruction 34-501, which was published on 13 November, 2018. There are several exceptions and qualifiers, but the main categories of people eligible for burial at USAFA are USAFA cadets, Air Force military personnel assigned at USAFA at the time of their deaths. USAFA graduates all active duty and retired Air Force four star generals and lieutenant generals, specific former Academy senior staffers, original cadre from the Lowry days and mid-70s air training officers who supported the enrollment of the first female cadets, specific relatives of eligible members and Medal of Honor and Air Force Cross recipients. The instruction also has a waiver process. The 10th Air Base Wing Commander can disapprove a request for exception, but only the superintendent can approve an exception. These criteria and acres of space to expand ensure that eligible individuals can continue to be buried here far into the future.

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation

The Air Force Academy cemetery has breathtaking natural beauty and an exceptionally impressive roster of people who have chosen it as their final resting place. It also holds a large number of important structures. Most visible is the memorial pavilion. After many years of events being negatively impacted by inclement weather on 11-May, 2007, this facility, funded by the Association of Graduates, was dedicated at the time. The $4.7 million structure, funded by more than 11,000 graduates and friends, was the largest single gift ever made to the Academy. Other structures at the cemetery include the locator building with the same architecture as the memorial pavilion. It contains kiosks allowing visitors to locate any grave marker and learn about the lives of the deceased. The Memorial Wall, dedicated in 1981, contains plaques from air related units, commemorating their service and acknowledging their comrades who died as a result of combat. The 40 foot tall American Legion Memorial tower was also dedicated in 1981 in memory of those who have served their country from the Revolutionary War to the present. The tower was originally located on the Hill west of the Cadet Chapel. It was moved here in October 1996. A bronze sculpture of an Air Force honor guard was installed in October 2007. The eight foot tall statue, a gift from Mr. Ross Perot, is a replica of the Statue of the United States Air Force Memorial in Washington, DC. The Airman on the Meadow and Winged Refuge statues located near the memorial pavilion were dedicated in November 2011. The uplifted arm of the airmen evokes the John Gillespie McGee poem, High Flight, while the Winged Refuge is a set of 17 1/2' foot Art Deco wings that honor aviation and its relevance to the Academy. Mission.

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation

The Air Force Academy cemetery is a somber and dignified focal point of the Academy's commitment to those who have gone before. It opened in September 1958 shortly after the cadet wing moved from Lowery Air Force base in Denver to its permanent location here, north of Colorado Springs. One gage of the facility's stature and importance is the people who have chosen it as their final resting place.

Appropriately, Lieutenant General Hubert Harmon, the Academy's first superintendent, was the first person buried here. He has since been joined by an impressive roster of Air Force and Academy leaders.

At the risk of omitting noteworthy individuals. Here are some of those who are buried here. 

General Carl Spots, the first Chief of Staff of the Air Force. Three other chiefs of staff, Generals Curtis LeMay, John McConnell and John Ryan. 

Eight superintendents, including the first six, Captain Valmore Bork, Class of '60, the first graduate killed in combat. He shares this hallowed ground with dozens of other graduates and heroes who gave their lives in defense of the United States. Master Sergeant William Crawford, United States Army, the only Medal of Honor recipient in the cemetery and the first enlisted person to be buried here. Notably, he was a janitor in Sijan Hall, a cadet dormitory when a classmate of mine, Cadet Jim Moschgat, uncovered his story while reading about World War II; Lieutenant Colonel Theodore Harris, Korean War POW held in solitary confinement for 14 months, and author of the Contrails quote, “Many of us learned as doolies, if I can't go back with my self respect, I won't go back at all.” Colonel Lee Black, the first Preparatory School commander; Captain Charles Bush, Class of '63, the first black graduate; Brigadier General Robin Olds, triple ace and former commandant of cadets. A 100 acre site has room to grow in hopes of serving graduates and heroes long into the future.

The Heritage Minute Channel is a production of the Long Blue Line Podcast Network and presented by the U.S. Air Force Academy Association and Foundation