[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 204 (Tuesday, December 19, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S18922-S18925]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

                                 ______


  THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE DEDICATION OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY

 Mr. CAMPBELL. Mr. President, I rise today on behalf of myself 
and my 

[[Page S18923]]
distinguished colleague, Senator Brown, the senior Senator from 
Colorado. I know I speak for him as well, as I address the Senate 
today.
  On April 1, 1954 President Eisenhower signed Public Law 325, the Air 
Academy Act. On June 24, Secretary of the Air Force Harold Talbott 
announced that Colorado Springs would be the permanent site of the U.S. 
Air Force Academy and Denver would serve as the temporary site. Senator 
Ed Johnson stated, ``This is the greatest thing that has happened to 
Colorado since Pikes Peak was discovered by Zebulon Pike.'' The U.S. 
Air Force Academy was officially activated at Lowry Air Force Base, 
July 27, 1954, and proceeded to build in strength pending the arrival 
of the first class of cadets--July 11, 1955--which date marks the 
official dedication and opening of the U.S. Air Force Academy.
  Dedication Day began with the arrival of the 307 young men who would 
comprise the Class of 1959. The morning was spent in processing, 
uniforms, hair cuts, and so forth, and by 11 a.m. they were lined up 
for intensive close order drill instruction. That afternoon, with the 
stands filled with 4,159 military and civilian dignitaries, public 
officials, the foreign attache corps, cadets from West Point and 
Annapolis, the press and parents, with a formation of B-36 bombers 
flying overhead, and with the U.S. Air Force Band playing, the 307 
cadets marched on the field in such perfect formation it brought tears 
in the eyes of the spectators.
  At the end of the ceremonies, the guests were invited by the Denver 
Chamber of Commerce to attend a real chuck wagon buffalo barbecue at 
the Red Rocks Park Amphitheater, a fitting climax to a historic day.
  We Coloradans are, indeed, proud that Colorado was chosen as the 
location of the temporary and permanent sites of the U.S. Air Force 
Academy. The Nation is, indeed, proud of the outstanding leaders who 
have graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy--both in the Air Force 
and civilian life.
  We would also like to pay tribute to those officers whose wisdom and 
foresight in the Academy's inception insured a great measure of the 
success that has been achieved by the Academy. Among these are Lt. Gen. 
Hubert R. Harmon, the first Superintendent and Father of the U.S. Air 
Force Academy; Col. (later Brig. Gen.) Robert M. Stillman, Commandant 
of Cadets; Col. (later Brig. Gen.) Robert F. McDermott, Dean; Col. 
William B. Taylor III, Assistant Chief of Staff (Special Projects), and 
Col. Robert V. Whitlow, Director of Athletics.


Lt. Gen. Hubert R. Harmon, first Superintendent and Father of the U.S. 
                           Air Force Academy

  President Eisenhower personally selected his close friend and West 
Point classmate Lt. Gen. Hubert R. Harmon to be the new Air Force 
Academy's first Superintendent as he knew ``Doodles'' Harmon would be, 
by far, the best man for the job. General Harmon was from a prominent 
military family as his father and two brothers were West Point 
graduates, as were the husbands of his two sisters. His wife, Rosa May 
Kendricks' father was U.S. Senator John B. Kendricks (Wyoming). He had 
a distinguished military career being equally at home at an Academy 
football game--even though he weighed only 146 pounds, he won his ``A'' 
in football--piloting a combat airplane--the distinguished flying cross 
with cluster--on the golf course with President Eisenhower; as Air 
Attache at the Court of St. James; and at the United Nations where he 
was the Senior U.S. Military Representative.
  In December 1949, he was given the additional duty of Special 
Assistant to the Chief of Staff for Air Force Academy Matters charged 
with all details of developing ideas into an operational Air Force 
Academy. For the next 5 years, General Harmon and his team conferred 
endlessly with distinguished educators from all parts of the country; 
sifted and weighed the curriculum of universities and Service Academies 
in the United States and abroad, searching out the best features of 
each so painstaking by examining every suggestion referred to them by 
Congress or the Defense Department for its merit and workability. Every 
effort was made to select the finest officers for each segment of the 
Academy, to prepare the academic and military course material and, as 
required, to send officers to universities for specific academic 
training.
  During the numerous meetings held in the Pentagon, the Bureau of the 
Budget and in the House and Senate Armed Services Committee hearings, 
General Harmon was the star witness, selling the U.S. Air Force Academy 
concept, which led to the passage of Public Law 325, 83d Congress, the 
Air Academy Act signed by President Eisenhower April 1, 1954. On June 
24, Secretary Talbott announced that the Academy would be located at 
Colorado Springs and pending the design and construction of the 
permanent facilities, the Academy would be located at a temporary site 
at Denver (Lowry). On August 14, General Order No. 1 announced the 
official establishment of the Academy at Lowry--effective July 27--with 
General Harmon as its superintendent.

  He was a very meticulous person and was involved in all major aspects 
of the Academy, that is, rehabilitation of Lowry's buildings, the 
phasing in of all personnel; insuring that all items required to 
operate all facets of the Academy were procured and in place and, most 
important, that the new Academy would attract the most outstanding 
young men who were to be the future leaders of the Air Force.
  General Harmon was an outstanding example of the ideal leader, a 
brilliant, thoughtful, dynamic, respectful, understanding officer whose 
men would gladly follow him anywhere.
  With the arrival of the Academy's first class of cadets at Lowry on 
July 11, 1955, the U.S. Air Force Academy was born, with Lt. Gen. 
Hubert R. Harmon overseeing them as the Academy's ``Proud Father!'' As 
President Eisenhower later wrote ``Hubert was loved and admired by 
many; to Mamie and me he always seemed the ideal classmate and so we 
had for him a boundless affection.'' This was shared by Gen. Thomas D. 
White, Air Force Chief of Staff, who wrote, ``The Air Force has lost 
one of its most inspiring leaders and the Father of our new Air Force 
Academy.'' Senator Gordon Allott (Colorado), who served under General 
Harmon in World War II, wrote, ``Few have had as much courage and set 
so fine an example as he did. His quiet, fair and, above all, his 
genuine qualities have been stamped on the entire Academy and I believe 
will be reflected in every student who graduates.''


                 Brig. Gen. Robert M. (Moose) Stillman

  Brig. Gen. Robert M. (Moose) Stillman was the ideal officer to be 
appointed the first Commandant of Cadets. He was a leader's leader 
having been a star football player and line coach at West Point, 8th 
Air Force Bomb Group Commander, POW at Stalag Luft III, and, while 
serving in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Personnel, was 
involved in the early planning of the U.S. Air Force Academy. Moose was 
more mature than most of the other key Academy officers as he was West 
Point 1933, whereas McDermott, Whitlow and others were West Point 1943. 
He was a burly, genial man with a great sense of humor and was an avid 
sportsman. Colorado was his State as he grew up in Pueblo and attended 
Colorado College in Colorado Springs before entering West Point.
  As there were no upper classmen to supervise the ``Doolies'' 
(plebes), outstanding young officers, many with Korean combat records, 
were assigned to be the Air Training Officers and Air Officer's 
Commanding to fill this vital role. As their careers progressed, many 
of these officers became key U.S. Air Force officials, that is, Chief 
of Staff, Superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy, and so forth.
  ``Moose'' Stillman used a modified version of the West Point 
Commandant of Cadets system which proved to be most successful in the 
installation of command and leadership into the future Air Force 
leaders. The basic fundamentals of this system are incorporated into 
today's curriculum.
  The training function as envisioned by General Stillman was divided 
into three main components: Military training, flying training, and 
physical training, thus the individual cadets would experience a 4-year 
laboratory exercise in command and leadership. At all stages of the 
planning for the Academy, the philosophy of a ``sound mind in a sound 
body'' was recognized as a fundamental principle. To assist him in 
running the Commandant of Cadets Department, he hand picked outstanding 


[[Page S18924]]
young Majors, Lieutenant Colonels and Colonels, many of whom were later 
promoted to General Officer and held major Air Force positions.
  When General Stillman turned over the Command of the Cadet Wing on 
August 1, 1958, the mould had been set which other Commandants were 
prepared to implement. It is only fitting that the Academy Parade 
Ground has recently been named the Maj. Gen. Robert M. Stillman Parade 
Ground in honor of this outstanding officer.


                 Col. (Brig. Gen.) Robert F. Mc Dermott

  McDermott, as his close friends call him, attended Norwich University 
for 2 years before entering West Point, graduating in 1943. After 
service as a fighter pilot in the European theater he served as a 
personnel staff officer in the Pentagon and then to Harvard for his 
MBA. From 1950 to 1954 (when he was assigned to the faculty of the new 
U.S. Air Force Academy) he was an instructor in the West Point 
Department of Social Studies under the tutelage of two distinguished 
military educators, Col. Herman Blukema and Col. George Lincoln. From 
the Academy's inception in 1954 he served as Professor and Head of the 
Department of Economics with additional duties as Faculty Secretary, 
Vice Dean, Acting Dean and later Dean (replacing Brig. Gen. Don 
Zimmerman).
  McDermott was a visionary in that he realized that the university 
educational system was undergoing a drastic change and that the new 
U.S. Air Force Academy's curriculum must reflect this change in order 
to meet the educational and technological challenges of the modern 
world. The first major change was the Academy's Enrichment Program 
which was designed for the gifted cadets and those who had completed 
college level courses at other institutions. The Enrichment Program 
broadens the field of study, challenging the cadet to advance 
academically as far and fast as the cadet was able to accomplish. The 
introduction of the curriculum enrichment program was the first major 
departure from the traditional service academy philosophy--that all 
students should pursue and be limited to a prescribed course of study--
and was an outstanding success.

  He also introduced the whole man concept in selecting cadets for 
appointment, which gave weighted recognition to the physical, athletic, 
moral and leadership attributes of a candidate as well as his academic 
potential and registered scholastic achievements. This soon became the 
standard admission policy of all Service Academies and earned 
McDermott,the award of the Legion of Merit. During his long tenure as 
Dean, McDermott established programs and policies which two decades 
later still influence established programs and policies. He created a 
tenure associate Professor Program designed to keep the Academy's 
doctoral level to that in civilian universities. He established a 
sabbatical leave program for all tenure professors. He started a 
faculty research program in support of graduate level teaching and 
related Air Force research programs, etc.
  McDermott was an extraordinary individual. His educational 
background, with its vigorous training and grueling workload, had given 
him confidence in his ability to achieve his goals. His influence came 
from hard work, mastery of detail, and from his remarkable ability to 
express his ideas and express his proposals in a forceful way--as his 
verbal skills were second to none.
  Under his leadership the Academy experienced unprecedented academic 
achievements. By the time of McDermott's retirement in 1968, graduates 
had won 9 Rhodes Scholarships, 20 Fulbright Scholarships, and 73 other 
fellowships and scholarships, which no other institution of higher 
learning has achieved in such a short time of its inception.
  The Academy and the U.S. Air Force was indeed fortunate to have in 
its formative years a dean with the wisdom and foresight of Robert F. 
McDermott.


                       Col. William B. Taylor III

  Col. William B. Taylor III played two major roles. First as the 
Legislative Officer, representing the Secretary of the Air Force, and, 
in coordination with Lt. Gen. Harmon, was tasked with the Air Force and 
interservice coordination; White House approval and, action through the 
Congress of legislation to establish a U.S. Air Force Academy. To 
accomplish this, Colonel Taylor absorbed and organized an abundance of 
information--which had accumulated for more than 6 years--running the 
gauntlet of wishfulness to projections of an operating Academy with a 
history of tradition, picking out the essential information, monitoring 
its organization, and presentation in a manner essential to its 
passage. Colonel Taylor's efforts in behalf of the Air Academy 
legislation were of inestimable value to the Air Force and it is 
difficult to conceive of anyone who could have performed this mission 
more effectively and in such an outstanding manner.
  Second, as Assistant Chief of Staff (Special Projects) from January 
1955-July 1958, Colonel Taylor had a major input in almost every major 
staff action. He was project officer for the dedication of the U.S. Air 
Force Academy, July 11, 1955, at Lowry which the arrival of the 307 
initial cadets, flyovers, speeches, important military and civilian 
guests, cadets from West Point and Annapolis, parents, receptions, and 
entertainment signified the Academy's first operational day. As the 
Liaison Officer, Air Force Academy Foundation, he replaced the 
foundation's professional fundraiser and played a major role in the 
planning and implementation of the following projects: the Eisenhower 
championship golf course, the Farrish Memorial Park Cadet Recreational 
Center, the Professional Football Exhibition Benefit Game program, the 
drafting of the initial fundraising plans for the Academy stadium, the 
Visitors Center, and other projects adopted by the foundation. He 
organized and was secretary to the Board of Visitors 1956-1958. The 
board's secretary must show great tact and inspire confidence while 
representing the Academy during the critical annual inspection period. 
Representative J. Edgar Chenoweth (CO), Chairman of the Academy's first 
Board of Visitors, congratulated Colonel Taylor on his performance, 
stating the Board's Report was the best he had seen. Similar comments 
were received from Representative Errett Scrivner and Gen. Carl Spaatz, 
the 1957 and 1958 chairman.
  Cecil B. DeMille, at the request of Secretary Talbott, agreed to 
design the cadet uniforms. Colonel Taylor headed the team that worked 
with Mr. DeMille, and associates from Paramount and Western Costume to 
create their successful uniform designs.
  Colonel Taylor, due to personal contact with Col. Richard Gimbel and 
Col. Robert Elbert, played a main role in the Gimbel Collection of 
Aeronautical Memorabilia--the world's finest--and the Elbert paintings 
``The Duke of Wellington (Laurence),'' ``Sir Robert Peele,'' and ``The 
Duke of Douglas (Romney),'' which are worth many million dollars, being 
given to the Academy.
  In order to achieve nationwide support for the Academy, Colonel 
Taylor instituted the Candidate Advisory Program utilizing the Air 
Force Reserve, Air National Guard, Air Force ROTC, Air Force Recruiting 
Service, Air Force Retired Personnel, and others to appear before the 
26,000-plus high schools and public audiences to promote the U.S. Air 
Force Academy. This program has been an outstanding success.
  Colonel Taylor implemented the Civic Leaders Program whereby civic 
leaders, educators, clergymen, the press, and others from major cities 
were brought to the Academy for briefings and indoctrination to insure 
that on their return they would use their influence to assist the 
Academy in securing the finest type of young men. As an example of the 
effectiveness of this program, Dr. Edwin D. Harrison, president of 
Georgia Tech, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate, wrote Superintendent M/G 
James E. Briggs ``In closing, I feel it imperative to mention that I 
believe Col. William B. Taylor to be one of the finest officers and the 
finest gentleman it has ever been my pleasure to meet. I am sure he 
will leave an indelible mark on the formative period of the Academy.''
  On his assignment to Spain in July 1958, Colonel Taylor had been 
associated with the Air Academy project longer than anyone in the U.S. 
Air Force.


                         Col. Robert V. Whitlow

  Col. Robert V. Whitlow, the Director of Athletics, played a major 
role in the 

[[Page S18925]]
Academy. He was an athlete's athlete. Bob excelled in football in high 
school and, at UCLA for 3 years before entering West Point, where he 
won 3 major letters--in football, basketball, and track. After service 
as a pilot in World War II, he was assigned to the Collegio Militar, 
Mexico's West Point as an exchange English instructor and football 
coach. In 2 years, they won Mexico's national football championship. 
During his next assignment, at the Air Defense Command, Colorado 
Springs, he played golf with key generals and dignitaries such as Gen. 
Rosie O'Donnell, General Harmon, and to be Secretary Harold Talbott, 
thus paving the way for his selection as Director of Athletics.
  Whitlow believed that football was the way to get the new Academy the 
widest publicity and football was the best way to raise money quickly 
so that an aggressive athletic program could be launched. His initial 
goal was to get sixty top flight athletes as cadets as soon as 
possible. Bob was a very determined and intense man, with supreme 
confidence in his ability to whip the new cadets into a formidable 
football team. A most astute move on his part was to hire Buck Shaw, 
former coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, to coach the football team. He 
then proceeded to schedule games with top ranked colleges to present 
the team with the utmost challenge, an almost impossible task--which 
was farther compounded when you realize the entering first class was 
only 307 cadets, the second 300 cadets, the third 306 cadets, and the 
fourth 453 for a total of only 1,366 cadets--all representing a brand 
new college that had just entered the collegiate athletic world.
  It is almost inconceivable that at the end of the fourth football 
season, largely due to the spirit, drive and determination of Bob 
Whitlow, Coach Buck Shaw and assistants--and Col. George Simler and 
Coach Ben Martin who followed Whitlow and Shaw--the Air Force Academy 
football team battled Texas Christian to a scoreless tie in the Cotton 
Bowl--an unbelievable feat not to be duplicated by any team from a 
brand new college. This performance immediately paved the way for the 
successful fund raising effort to build the Falcon Stadium at the 
Academy.

                          ____________________