The Fifty-Niners: A Tribute Poem for USAFA Class of 1959

A tribute poem by USAFA ’59 graduate Don L. Brooks celebrating the first Air Force Academy cadets, their trials, honor, service, and lifelong brotherhood.

THE FIFTY-NINERS

Who are these few

Dressed out in blue

Trimmed in silver and the gold?

They’re the men from the Springs

Who dream of wings

And adventures both daring and bold.

From across this vast land

Came this eager young band,

With anxious anticipation.

Any doubts didn’t show,

They were ready to go,

To join in and serve our great nation.

They assembled in place

With a determined face,

Never showing a fear or a doubt.

But with hearts turning flips

And a prayer on their lips,

“Let me do well and not get kicked out!"

Soon the trials began,

There was trouble at hand

In the form of the ATOs.

They were evil and rough,

But the young men were tough,

How they survived it God only knows!

Opening ceremonies were done,

The training had begun,

In this school, with everything new,

With the Rockies nearby,

This first school for the sky,

Brought challenges for the men wearing blue.

The plan had gone well

From the opening bell,

But two major requirements remained.

A code to hold dear

And a mascot to cheer,

Objectives that must be attained.

An Honor Code to live by

To keep standards high

Among cadets at the Blue Zoo.

They swore to the deal,

“We won’t lie, cheat, or steal,

Nor tolerate those among us that do."

It came to a vote,

No dumb mule or a goat,

Would work for a school of the sky.

Without further word,

They selected the bird,

And long may the Falcon fly high!

When the testing was through

They had lost quite a few,

The taskings were hard to endure.

But the ones that remained,

That had survived all the strain

Were the best, that is for sure.

Finally came the big day

When they could stand up and say,

“We did it, we passed the last test!”

As they reached for a star

They had set a high bar,

They had given it their very best!

With Academy schooling done,

The real tests had begun,

It was time for the really big show.

Did they have the right stuff,

Or was it all fluff?

The "Real Air Force" wanted to know.

Each went their own way

Knowing that some day

Armed conflict might come to call.

In some far distant land

They would meet the demand

And prove themselves to one and all.

With war clouds once more

On a faraway shore,

They went over to do what they could.

They saw at first hand

Man’s evil to man,

The lessons of war understood.

The years have flown by

Like the twinkling of an eye,

And the band’s numbers have grown small.

The trials, they were many

And the hard times were plenty,

As they answered their nation's call.

Their hair has turned gray

And it is easy to say

They are not the young men of yore.

But the sparkle in the eyes

Would be hard to disguise,

Deep inside they are all still hard core.

Now they shuffle along,

Not nearly so strong,

Awaiting the day to fly West.

They reflect on the past

Knowing it was really a blast,

As they prepare for that one final test.

Then finally they’ll fly

To that base beyond the sky,

Where sorrow and pain are no more,

The very last man

Will respond to the command,

“All present or accounted for!”