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‘A second family’: Class of 1959 celebrates their 55th reunion

  • Published
  • By Melissa Porter
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. --  Academy graduates traded handshakes, hugs and stories about their shared Academy experience during the Class of '59 reunion here June 16 - 20.

During this Reunion Week, scheduled every five years, the group of about 80 graduates visited cadets, attended a wing briefing, toured the Academy and paid their respects to their deceased classmates and training officers at the Cadet Chapel.

A hot topic during the reunion was the challenges faced by the Academy's first graduating class.

"It wasn't an easy start for us," said retired Lt. Col. Jim Brown, Class of '59 vice president. "There was no precedent set."

The Class of '59, comprised of 306 cadets, started their Academy experience in 1955 at Lowry Air Force Base while the Academy was being built here.

"The officers assigned to the Academy were the 'cream of the crop,'" said retired Lt. Col. Joe DeSantis, class president. "Overall, it was the quality of the men who led and trained us that made the experience. We really had the best of the best."

These training officers helped DeSantis and his classmates establish several longstanding Academy traditions: selecting the Falcon as the school mascot, creating a class ring, and topping-off graduation with an exuberant hat toss.

Of all the Academy's early accomplishments, Brown and DeSantis said they're most proud of adopting the honor code.

"We became the spirit behind moving the honor code through the Academy," Brown said. "That is the one thing that has really been strong with our class."

For all the challenges the Class of '59 may have faced, the biggest test came after graduation, said retired Maj. Gen. Larry Fortner.

"The Air Force we were sent into did not know what to expect from us," he said. "Some were skeptical and others expected us to provide more than we were capable of providing. It took a few years and more graduates to show the Air Force that we were just junior officers who were maybe a little better trained, but still junior officers who still had much to learn."

Judging by the evidence, Class of '59 graduates lived-up to these challenges as more than 90 percent of Class of '59 graduates attended pilot training, 15 became general officers, four rose to four-star ranks, one became an astronaut, one a Thunderbird pilot and one served as vice chief of staff of the Air Force.

Retired Lt. Gen. Bradley Hosmer, the class' top graduate, the Academy's first Rhodes Scholar, and the first graduate to serve as superintendent, talked about the difference between the Classes of '59 and 2018.

"A change I think is much for the better is that only about half of the class goes into pilot training today," he said. "This helps keep the focus on developing officers, not just pilots. The strengths and virtues of an officer are different than that of a pilot."

Today's generation of cadets will add to the Academy's legacy of achievement, Hosmer said.

"The strength of the institution is built on the lessons from the past and I think the Academy is well-equipped to produce young officers who will contribute every bit as much as my class did," he said.

The Class of '59 remains close and eagerly anticipates coming together every five years for these reunions, Hosmer said.

"This class is my second family," he said. "Our ties are through this institution. This is the nest."

DeSantis agreed.

"Coming back and seeing all these dear friends and their wives is an immense treat for me," he said. "I love the Academy. For me, this is the best thing I get to do."