HERITAGE MINUTE

It all started in the spring of 1962 when a band of bootleg jumpers made their first parachute jumps as cadets. ----more----

Using condemned SERE rigs and local aviation pilots, these cadets made several jumps in the Colorado area. During that spring, a few cadets by the names of Aronoff, Davis, Kelley, McCurdy and Sijan – at their own risk and expense–made a number of demonstration and competition jumps to include our 1st collegiate-national appearance in Wisconsin winning a gold medal. They had no sanctioning from the Academy; truthfully, the Academy had no idea. When words of their jumping escapades got back to the superintendent, the Academy leadership was facing a dilemma—punish these outlaws or reward these collegiate competitors—needless to say, there were some rocky times those first two years, but after receiving a challenge from the Commandant of West Point to compete in a Para meet—club status resulted in May 1964. Under the careful guidance and nurturing of Cadet Pete Johnston, the club grew with great renown not only in the cadet wing, but the skydiving community as well. His efforts along with those of the graciously volunteering officer and enlisted core such as Capt Craig Elliot, Capt John Garrity, SSgt Mort Freedman and MSgt James Howell helped set the foundation for the now internationally known United States Air Force Academy Parachute Team Wings of Blue.

- Copy courtesy of the AOG and USAFA.org

READ THE FULL HISTORY HERE

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

Just to the west of the Academy airfield is the Thunderbird Overlook.  It contains two interesting static display aircraft: the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt and the Northrop T-38 Talon.  ----more----

The Thunderbird Overlook was dedicated on June first, 1982, with Secretary of the Air Force Verne Orr in attendance.  According to the plaque at the site, the overlook “was created to remind the young men and women of the Air Force Cadet Wing of the pride, professionalism, discipline, dedication and teamwork that a career in the World’s finest Air Force demands!”  The Thunderbirds flew the T-38 from 1974 until 1982.  The final flight in the T-38 ended in tragedy on January 18, 1982, when four aircraft in the Diamond Formation crashed during training in Nevada, killing all four pilots.  This T-38, given to the Academy in 1981 by officials from Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, has the Thunderbirds paint scheme in remembrance of that accident.  When the T-Birds resumed flying in April 1983, they were in the F-16, the aircraft they have flown ever since.

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

Can you believe this behemoth shot down a MiG?  Well, it did!----more----

Located at the intersection of North Gate and Stadium Boulevards is a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress, tail number 50083.  On December twenty-fourth, 1972, the bomber known as “Diamond Lil” became one of two B-52Ds credited with a confirmed MiG kill in the Vietnam conflict.  During the bombing mission out of U-Tapao Royal Thai Naval Airfield in southern Thailand, the bomber's tail gunner, Airman First Class Albert Moore, shot down a MiG-21 northeast of Hanoi during “Linebacker II” action.  It was the last confirmed kill by a tail gunner in wartime using machine guns.  In October 1983, the aircraft, donated by the Strategic Air Command, was flown to Peterson Air Force Base by Captain James Rowland, Class of ’78.  His classmate, Captain James Stahl, was the radar navigator on that final flight.  In December 1983, with the wings and tail removed to allow the plane to travel on roads and under bridges, it was taxied to the Academy.  The static display was dedicated by General Bennie L. Davis, Commander-in-Chief of the Strategic Air Command, on September seventh, 1984.  Incidentally, there are two other aircraft at the Academy with kills.  One of the others, an A-10, is located a couple of miles down Stadium Boulevard.

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 Thunderbird Overlook near the south end of the Academy is home to two static display aircraft:  the Northrop T-38 Talon and the Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt (aka the Warthog).  ----more----

This particular A-10 is amazing.  It is known as “The Chopper Popper.”  Flying this plane on February sixth, 1991, Captain Robert Swain, Class of ’79, scored the first ever air-to-air victory in an A-10, shooting down an Iraqi Bo 105C helicopter during combat operations over Iraq.  On September seventh, 2002, the A-10 was dedicated and took its place at the Overlook.  The A-10 is one of three static display aircraft at the Academy with an enemy aircraft kill.  Coincidentally, one of the others was also dedicated on September seventh, but eighteen years earlier.  I am talking about the B-52 at the north end of the base, which shot down a MiG on Christmas eve 1972.  But that’s a subject for a different 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 and Foundation

A bronze statue in honor of the Tuskegee Airmen is on display outside Harmon Hall on the Academy’s Honor Court.  The plaque affixed to the statue’s base reads:  Quote:  “They rose from adversity through competence, courage, commitment and capacity to serve America on silver wings and to set a standard few will transcend.”  Unquote.  The statue, completed by Tuskegee Airman and artist Clarence Shivers, was unveiled and donated to the Academy in 1988 by the Hook-Jones Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen, Inc.  A wreath-laying ceremony is conducted at the site each year.

The term “Tuskegee Airmen” refers to all who were involved in the Army Air Corps program to train African-Americans to fly and maintain combat aircraft during World War II.  At a time of racial segregation in the military, the Tuskegee Airmen answered the call to arms and flew a total of 1,578 combat missions during the war.  They flew fighters on ground attack and bomber escort missions over Europe and North Africa.  Approximately 150 Tuskegee Airmen lost their lives while in training or on combat flights.  On March 29, 2007, the Tuskegee Airmen received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest civilian award that may be bestowed by the United States Congress.

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

Just to the west of the Cadet Chapel, concealed by a stand of pine trees, is a bronze statue honoring Lieutenant General Hubert Harmon, the first superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy.  ----more----

The first graduating class — the Class of 1959 — dedicated the statue in 2009 during its 40-year reunion.  Character, education and leadership are the values inscribed on the monument, and are meant to inspire future generations of cadets.  Harmon was a graduate of the West Point Class of 1915, known as “the class the stars fell on” for its large contingent of general officers – 59 generals, or 36% of the class.  Among his classmates were Dwight Eisenhower and Omar Bradley.  Harmon served in combat roles during World War II and would spend many years advocating for an air academy.  He served on two site selection commissions that would eventually propose Colorado Springs as the permanent site for the institution.  Commission members considered 580 sites in 45 states before making their final recommendation.  On August 14, 1954, General Harmon was appointed as the first superintendent of the Academy.  He would retire from that role on July 27, 1956, and pass away on February 22, 1957, more than two years before the first class would graduate.  In 1958, Harmon was the first individual buried in the Academy Cemetery, and the next year the Academy’s administration building was named in his honor.  In 2004, as part of the Academy’s fifty-year anniversary, he was officially declared “The Father of the Air Force Academy.”

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 United States Air Force Academy has one graduate Medal of Honor recipient.  His name is Lance Peter Sijan, Class of 1965.  ----more----

To honor him, a bronze sculpture of Sijan is on display at the Southeast Asia Plaza of Heroes.  Situated on the Heritage Trail adjacent to the Association of Graduates’ Doolittle Hall, the work of art was dedicated on November 6, 2015.  Sculpted by artist Jim Nance, Class of 1971, the sculpture depicts Sijan’s perseverance and determination.  On November 9, 1967, First Lieutenant Sijan was reported missing when he ejected from his disabled F-4C aircraft during a night bombing mission near Vinh, North Vietnam.  Despite serious injuries, he managed to evade capture for 46 days before being taken prisoner of war.  After failed escape attempts, he died in captivity on January 22, 1968.  Sijan was promoted to captain while a POW.  On March 4, 1976, Sijan would become the first USAFA graduate to be awarded the Medal of Honor.  President Gerald R. Ford presented the award to Captain Sijan’s parents at a White House ceremony.  A few months later, on May 31, 1976, the Academy’s newest dormitory was dedicated and named Sijan Hall.  A statue of Sijan also graces the Cadet Area, joining statues of Valmore Bourque and Karl Richter in the Mall of Heroes.

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

Heritage Minute host, Steve Simon recently welcomed Jim Nance, USAFA Class of ’71, and Major Joe Flescher, Class of ’14 to the studio.  Jim is a renowned sculptor and created the 2,000 lb.  "Honor Bound - A Portrait in Courage" plaque now mounted on the east exterior wall of USAFA's Southeast Asia Pavilion.  Maj. Flescher served as his model.

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Jim Nance has made a name for himself by being an amazing sculptor.  Examples of his work abound at the Academy, including at the Air Warrior Combat Memorial near the B-52 inside the North Gate and on the  Heritage Trail outside Doolittle Hall.  

The bronze sculpture, valued at $400,000, has a wingspan of 24 feet and weighs 10,000 pounds.  Jon Hair, the “Official Sculptor to the United States Olympic Team,” created it.  Dedicated on August 29th, 2008, the sculpture was given to the Academy by philanthropist Irwin “Ike” Belk, who was present at the dedication.  He commissioned the statue “to honor United States Air Force Academy graduates for their selfless service to our nation.”  Belk, who passed away in 2018, served in the intelligence career field in Europe during World War II as a member of the famed Eighth Air Force.  After the war, he became a Belk Department Store executive.  He funded similar giant mascots at more than 40 other colleges and universities, many in his native North Carolina.

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

In the “old” days, (the fifties, sixties and early seventies), Army and Navy were afraid to play the Falcons in Colorado – something about the altitude.  ----more----

Games were played in New York City, Chicago, Washington D.C, and Baltimore, among other places, but not until 1966 did Navy venture out here, followed by Army the following year.  Neither was eager to return.  Former Air Force Academy Athletic Director George Simler conceived a way to get them into Falcon Stadium regularly – the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy.  Begun in 1972, the annual round-robin tournament sees the three schools vie for football supremacy, with the winner earning the Commander-in Chief's Trophy and, frequently, a trip to the White House to meet the actual commander-in-chief, the President of the United States.  Air Force was a little slow on the uptake, not winning the trophy outright until 1982, but we currently hold the overall lead, with 20 victories.  Navy has secured the Trophy 15 times and Army 8.  The three schools’ alumni associations jointly sponsor the Trophy.  Go Air Force!