Class of 1959
HISTORY
1955: On July 11, 306 civilians went through the gates of Lowry Air Force Base outside Denver, Colorado, and emerged on the other side as new cadets in the Air Force Academy’s first class. The very first to take the oath as a cadet was Valmore Bourque, and 305 others followed close behind. (Val Bourque would graduate with the Class of '60. Later, he died in Vietnam, ironically, the first Air Force Academy graduate to die in combat.)
For the next four years – five years for a few – this close-knit group became both experimenters and experimentees, as the early traditions of the new school grew up around them. Everything was new, and (at least early on) everything was temporary. Importantly, the site – Lowry AFB – was a temporary one, pressed into use while the permanent Air Force Academy buildings were being built near Colorado Springs. Some traditions came from long-standing military practice, others were responses to the needs of the moment.
APRIL 1, 1954
SIGNED LEGISLATION
AUTHORIZING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE AIR FORCE ACADEMY
President Dwight Eisenhower (seated) shakes hands with Secretary of the Air Force Harold Talbott, April 1, 1954, after signing legislation authorizing the establishment of the U.S. Air Force Academy. Looking on (from left) are Congressman Karl Vinton, of Georgia; Gen. Nathan Twining, Air Force chief of staff; Congressman Dewey Short, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee; James Douglas, undersecretary of the Air Force, and Lt. Gen. Hubert Harmon, special assistant for the Academy. Harmon was the first superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy. (Photo Credit: Air Force Academy)
1957-1959
1957-1959: The year started off with the inaugural parade in Washington D.C., before the cadets returned to their normal routines of academics, training, and Saturday Morning inspections (SAMI). Then, almost too soon, it was time to receive the new class, and before that, to figure out how the relationships between the 59ers, now "3rd Classmen (ie, sophomores) and the new cadets in the Class of ‘60.
The Invented Upperclassmen
AIR TRAINING OFFICERS
In 1955, the new Wing of Cadets at the Air Force Academy faced a challenge: without upperclassmen to provide leadership and structure like other military institutions, the newly formed Academy introduced recently commissioned officers from various military institutions—called Air Training Officers (ATOs)—to act as pseudo-upperclassmen.
The first day was a whirlwind: saluting, saying “Yes, Sir,” haircuts, uniforms, and marching in Wing Formation—all before mid-afternoon. Urgency was essential, as the Cadet Wing was to participate in opening ceremonies featuring the famed Thunderbirds Aerial Demonstration Team.
INTENSE CONDITIONING
EIGHT WEEKS OF TRAINING
Cadets underwent eight intense weeks of military and physical conditioning, culminating in a weeklong bivouac at Buckley Field. Training was intense, albeit occasionally disjointed as the ATOs (who did not have a common background) reverted to methods that had been used at their alma mater, whether they were from the USMA, USNA, The Citadel, VMI or ROTC.
PRESIDENTIAL INSPECTION
President Dwight D. Eisenhower personally inspected the Wing of Cadets during their first year, receiving a full briefing on the new Academy and visiting First Squadron.
AIR TRAINING OFFICERS - ATOs
ATOs: Every military school has a hierarchical structure, in which the upperclassmen provide leadership and guidance (and, to a certain degree, harassment) to the new classes. Here in 1955 there were no experienced upper classmen, so it became necessary to invent them – recently commissioned officers from other sources, called Air Training Officers and brought in to act as pseudo-upperclassmen. So the first class began with a whirlwind first day – learn to salute, learn to say "Yes, Sir," get a haircut, get uniforms and learn to march in Wing Formation, all before mid-afternoon. Why so fast? Because the new Wing of Cadets would march at the opening ceremonies, which would also include a performance by the Air Force Thunderbirds Aerial Demonstration Team.
Then followed eight weeks of intense military and physical training, culminating with a week’s bivouac at Buckley Field.
What was living like? Two-man rooms in wooden converted WWII barracks. One closet for clothes, a bookshelf, desk and an M-1 rifle for drills. The class assembled in three squadrons in the quadrangle at the center of the barracks for parades and meal formations. Meals were in a nearby mess hall, to which we marched in formation, and after eating, returned individually – but still at a march step and still at attention. Training was intense, albeit occasionally disjointed as the ATOs (who did not have a common background) reverted to methods that had been used at their alma mater, whether they were from the USMA, USNA, The Citadel, VMI or ROTC.
During the first year the Wing of Cadets was honored by an inspection by the President of the United States, President Dwight Eisenhower, who received a briefing on the new school and inspected First Squadron.
Near the end of summer training one day at lunch in the mess hall the class was asked to decide upon an academy mascot. The choice quickly centered around the falcon and the tiger. In retrospect, it’s hard to remember why the tiger was an attractive idea for a mascot for an Air Force School, especially since it is used as the mascot for so many other schools. But the Falcon it was, by a show of hands of the cadets.
Academics started after bivouac finished and the pace changed – academics now had primacy, but the military training continued on top of it. The Cadet Wing was reorganized into four squadrons. The ‘59ers got their first taste of flight as navigator training began.
Another task was to prepare for their part in the second inaugural for President Eisenhower, which meant extra hours on the drill field practicing parade formations. Because the 59ers were not given leave over Christmas to return home, that first Christmas was spent in Denver, and most of the time was spent on site, although with a relaxed duty schedule.
- written by Colonel James Reed