Heritage | US Air Force Academy AOG & Foundation

Southeast Asia Memorial Pavilion
During their 34th reunion, the Class of 1970 made a commitment to design, build and dedicate a memorial to honor those graduates who served and died in the Vietnam War.

Honoring Academy Heritage

This Day in Air Force Academy History...

22 December 1961 -- The Air Force establishes a new pair of silver wings to identify Air Force pilot-astronauts. The insignia superimposed a shooting star over the traditional pilot’s badge. Captain Gus Grissom, exemplar for the Academy Class of ’07, was the first recipient. As of 2014, 39 Academy graduates had become astronauts. 22 December 1964 -- Joseph “Jody” Powell Jr., Class of ’65, is expelled from the Academy for cheating on a history examination. He would go on to serve as Press Secretary for President Jimmy Carter. In a 1984 essay that ran in The Los Angeles Times and the AOG’s Checkpoints magazine, he wrote of his Academy time, “The years I spent there meant more to me than any other period in my life, and the part that meant the most was the Honor Code that I violated.” Powell died in September 2009. 22 December 1965 -- Retired General Thomas D. White passes away at Walter Reed Medical Center. General White is the namesake of the award presented annually by the Academy to a U.S. citizen who has contributed significantly to the national defense of the United States. 22 December 1978 -- The Falconews reports that Cadet Jeffrey Jackson, Class of ’79, was named the Academy’s 20th recipient of a Rhodes Scholarship. 22 December 2003 -- Harry Pearce, Class of ’64, ends his service as chairman of the Hughes Electronics Corporation Board of Directors, a subsidiary of General Motors Corporation. He had served in that capacity since May 2001. 22 December 2006 -- Troy Calhoun, Class of ’89, is hired as head football coach. He was the first Air Force Academy graduate to be head football coach at Air Force. 22 December 2010 -- President Barack Obama signs legislation that leads to the repeal of the policy known as “Don't Ask, Don't Tell,” which allowed closeted members of the military, to include Academy cadets and graduates, to serve, while prohibiting military service those who were openly gay. The change would go into effect on 20 September 2011. 22 December 2010 -- The Academy’s Physics Department forms the Astronomical Research Group and Observatory (ARGO) Center to formalize astronomy research and STEM outreach missions at the Academy Observatory.

Research for this date in USAFA historical achievements was provided by Steven Simon '77. Read about other USAFA grad accomplishments.

Heritage Minute

One key mission of the Association of Graduates is to highlight some of those things that make the Academy the special place that it is. As a result, the AOG has launched a series of “Heritage Minute” videos that will be available weekly from our website, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram TV. Each episode of the “Heritage Minute” will feature a historic site or display found somewhere on the Academy campus.