Thursday, July 17th

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for Thursday, July 17th  On this day, back in 1943 -- Walt Disney Productions releases the animated documentary “Victory Through Air Power,” based on Major Alexander de Seversky’s 1942 book of the same title.  While Disney Productions made many military-related films on commission for the government during World War II, Walt Disney personally funded this project due to his belief in Seversky’s theories about the practical uses of long-range strategic bombing.  American President Franklin Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill saw the film and were impressed by Seversky’s viewpoints.  The...

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Wednesday, July 16th

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for Wednesday, July, 16th  On this day, back in 1969 -- The Apollo 11 mission launches from Cape Kennedy, Florida.  On its round trip to the moon and back, the spaceship held a piece of muslin material and a small splinter of wood from the Wright Brothers aircraft that flew on 17 December 1903.  The Wright Brothers are the exemplars of the Class of ‘15.  …Also on this day, back in 2024 -- Former cadet and Falcon baseball player Paul Skenes, Class of ‘24, is the starting pitcher for the National...

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Tuesday, July 15th

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for Tuesday, July 15th--  On this day, back in 1953 --  During his second tour to Korea, Major James Jabara records his fifteenth and final kill of the war, all against MiG-15 aircraft, making him the second-highest scoring American ace of the conflict.  America’s first jet ace, Jabara is the namesake of the Colonel James Jabara Award for Airmanship that the Academy and the Association of Graduates jointly present annually to an Academy graduate, living or deceased, whose actions directly associated with an aerospace vehicle set him or her apart from...

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Monday, July 14th

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for Monday, July 14th--  On this day, back in 1967 -- Actor, comedian, writer, and television pioneer Sid Caesar visits the Academy as a guest of the Cadet Wing staff.  …Also on this day, back in 2023 -- The Association of Graduates inducts Retired Brigadier General Harvey Schiller as an Honorary Member during an afternoon ceremony at Doolittle Hall.  Schiller was Permanent Professor and Head, Department of Chemistry, helped launch the directorate of faculty support in the Dean of the Faculty office and served as its first director.     …for the business-focused...

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Weekend of July 12th and 13th

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for the Weekend of July 12th and 13th --  On this day, back in 2001 -- Beginning the third of his five space missions, Steven Lindsey, Class of ’82, serves as commander of mission STS-104 aboard the Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis.  …Also this weekend back in 1921 -- Army Brigadier General Billy Mitchell, namesake of the Academy cadet dining hall and exemplar for the Class of 2001, uses Martin MB-2 and Handley Page bombers to sink several ships off the Virginia Capes. The tests studied the use of bombs on ships to...

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Friday, July 11th

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for Friday, July 11th --   On this day, back in 1998 - First Lieutenant Michael Blassie, Class of ’70, is buried in the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery, Missouri.  He was killed on May 11, 1972 when his A-37B ‘Dragon Fly’ aircraft was shot down over An Loc City, South Vietnam.  He was the Vietnam Unknown in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery from 1984 until 1998.  Also on this day, back in 2021 -- A Virgin Galactic craft makes a rocket-powered flight to the fringe of space...

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Thursday, July 10th

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for Thursday, July 10th --  On this day, back in 1952 -- The 10th Tactical Reconnaissance Wing, previously based at Pope Field, North Carolina, reactivated in Germany after its April 1st, 1949 inactivation. Many of its assigned units came from France.  On July 20th, 1959, the unit moved to RAF Alconbury in Great Britain.  In 1994, the Air Force reactivated the wing once more -- this time at the Air Force Academy.  …Also on this day, back in 2002 -- To support a major renovation of the High Country Inn airman’s dining...

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Wednesday, July 9th

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for Wednesday, July, 9th --  On this day, back in 1955 -- The Thunderbirds, U.S. Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, makes its first Air Force Academy-related flight, at Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado.  The team also flew the next day at the Pikes Peak Air Rodeo, and on 11 July 1955 at the Academy dedication ceremony.  …Also on this day, back in 2010 -- Brigadier General Richard Clark, Class of ’86, assumes command of the Commandant of Cadets.  He would later earn the rank of Lieutenant General and serve as Academy Superintendent...

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Tuesday, July 8th

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for Tuesday, July 8th --  On this day, back in 1963 -- Former President Dwight Eisenhower personally dedicates the Academy’s Eisenhower Golf Course’s Blue Course by hitting a tee shot off the Number 1 tee.  The driver used by President Eisenhower was displayed in the Eisenhower Room of the clubhouse.  …Also on this day, back in 2000 -- Astronaut (and retired Air Force Colonel) Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin signs copies of his book, “Buzz Aldrin: The Return,” at the Academy Base Exchange.  In 1955 and ‘56, then-First Lieutenant Aldrin had been a member...

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Monday, July 7th

This is your official Air Force Academy History Update for Monday, July 7th-  On this day, back in 1987 - The Academy receives an Award of Honor from the South Chapter of the American Institute of Architects for “continued excellence in design and architecture in the Pikes Peak region.”  …Also on this day, back in 2006 -- Air Force men’s gymnastics coach Kip Simons is inducted into the Ohio State University Athletics Hall of Fame.  He was a four-time All-Big Ten honoree and conference champion, and two-time All-American.  He represented the United States at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. ...

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