As my retirement looms, or has loomed, I realize I’ve kept a significant amount of artifacts (tangible, intangible, verbal, memorable, infamous, etc.) from my four years at the Air Force Academy. After going through my stuff, I decided that preserving and organizing the tangible evidence of those four years were worthy endeavors.

So here is the start to my collection that documents the period specifically from 3 July 1972 through 2 June 1976 for the USAF Academy Class of 1976 – the Spirit of ’76.  Its purpose is to provide a glimpse, a taste, a hint, and a feel for my class, as we were.

I would encourage my fellow classmates to consider a similar project. However, you may have better things to do with your retirement. But if you also have some good things to share about our cadet experiences, please drop me a line or use the feedback form below to see how you might contribute (virtually) to the items I have here (with credit, as you can see).

“Boxes in the Attic”

I’m extending the metaphor of “boxes in the attic” as an organizing principle, as the “attic” comprehends the full collection and is comprised of “boxes” that have been sorted by categories of items. The categories (five to begin with) are determined based on the organization that primarily produced the items (granted, some of these are judgment calls).

If you click on one of these category links, you’ll go to an index page that lists all of the posts in that category. Or, just keep scrolling down this page for all of the links in each Box.

1. Official USAFA Box
2. Cadet Wing Box
3. the “Real” Air Force Box
4. News and Public Information Box
5. Personal Collection (not too personal)

There are a few things that ended up falling outside of this taxonomy, mostly because they were produced outside of the 1972-76 constraint, or they were/are more commentary or reflection about those days and about USAFA generally. Those are listed below the box contents under the heading Reflections on “As We Were.” Finally there is a short section that links to other pertinent online resources.

Below you can see the contents of each Box. The links will take you directly to that specific item.

BOX #1 — Official USAFA stuff

• 1971-1972 – Catalog and Decorum Handbook (Covers, Contributed by Kurt Klingenberger, CS-39)
• 1972-1973 – USAF Academy Catalog
• 1972 – Recruiting, Set of USAFA Wall Posters
• 19 Jul 1972 – Superintendent’s Letter to Parents
• 19 Jul 1972 – Profile of the Class of 1976 (attachment to 19 Jul 1972 Superintendent’s Letter
• 25 August 1972 – Letter to Parents from Air Officer Commanding (AOC)
• September 1972 – Parents Handbook
• 3 November 1972 – Letter to Parents re: New Computer Grading System
• 8 December 1972 – Superintendent’s Letter to Parents
• January 1973 – Letter to Parents re: Income Tax Information
• 14 December 1973 – Letter from Chaplains (Catholic and Protestant)
• December 1973 – Christmas card from Coach Ben Martin
• 15 July 1974 – Superintendent’s Letter to Parents
• December 1974 – Christmas card from AFA Athletic Association
• Undated – “Folksongs of the American Fighter Pilot in Southeast Asia 1967-68” (Folklore Forum)
• 25 July 1975 – Superintendent’s Letter to Parents
• October 1975 – Career Information Fact Book 1976
• 5 April 1976 – Letter of Appreciation re: ATO Training
• 1976 – Calendar for Graduate Brides
• 1976 – Trivia and Factoids from the Calendar for Graduate Brides

BOX #2 — Cadet Wing stuff (by, for, to cadets)

• Undated – Rules of Conduct for Basic Cadets
• July 1972 – CONTRAILS, the Basic Cadet Bible
• 1972, 1976 – 1972 Basic Cadet Training and ‘Permanent’ Squadron Nicknames
• 1972 – Freshman Football Roster
• 25 Nov 1972 – Freshman Falcons vs. Monterrey Tech in Monterrey, Mexico
• 1973 – Contrails, the annual desk calendar
• November 1974 – AFA at USMA (West Point photos)
• 1974-75 – CS-39 Squadron photos
• 1976 – Contrails, the annual desk calendar
• 20 May 1975 – ’76 Ring Dining In Ticket and Program
• February 1976 – Notebook of a Squadron Commander
• February 1976 – “Squadron Commander” (by Steve Stockdale for his successor)
• 1976 – Two Certificates of Merit
• 15 March 1976 – “Guide to Dress for June Week 1976” (from Gail McComas, Cadet Wing Hostess)
• 31 March 1976 – Memorial Service for C1C Jeffrey William Short
• 1 May 1976 – Graduation Invitation
• 27 May 1976 – “Fourth Group Farewell Roast for LTCOL William C. Plumb and SMSGT Thomas M. Ball“
• 1976 – Graduation Exercises Announcement
• 28 May 1976 – June Week Schedule of Events (one-pager)
• 28 May 1976 – June Week Information (Contributed by Pete Trump, CS-39, 8-panel fold)
• 30 May 1976 – Protestant Baccalaureate Service Program (Contributed by Pete Trump, CS-39)
• 31 May 1976 – Organizational Awards Parade & Individual Award Ceremony Program (Contributed by Pete Trump, CS-39)
• 1 June 1976 – Graduation Parade Program
• 1 June 1976 – Graduation Buffet Menu (Contributed by Pete Trump, CS-39)
• 2 June 1976 – Graduation Ceremony Ticket and Program
• 1976 – Letter from President Gerald R. Ford and “Instructions for Care of AFA Diplomas”
• 1976 – Polaris Yearbook (outline of contents)

BOX #3 —  “Real” Air Force stuff

• 20 July 1974 – Operation 3rd Lieutenant Program at Edwards AFB, CA
• 31 July 1974 – USAF Aerobics: Physical Fitness Program (Excerpts)
• 1 October 1975 – Officers Pay Guide
• October 1975 – USAF Thunderbirds Brochure
• April 1976 – Webb AFB UPT Graduation (2 historical footnotes)

BOX #4 — News and Publications

• 1968 – Growth Into Leadership; The United States Air Force Academy (Contributed by Pete Trump, CS-39)
• 1970 – “Follow the Falcon” map of the Air Force Academy
• Undated – Postcard, Ramada Inn
• 1972 – Wild Blue U: the story of the U.S. Air Force Academy, by Ed Mack Miller, photographs by Pat Coffey, with an Introduction by Milton Caniff. The Macmillan Company, Collier Books.
• 4 July 1972 – Colorado Springs Sun, “Air Force cadets arrive, begin new life as ‘doolies‘”
• 21 August 1972 – Colorado Springs Sun, Front Page, headline “Welcome, AFA Cadets!” (pdf, 2.1MB)
• 19 Feb 1973 – Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, “Return to Freedom, Release of the POWs),” (photo w/caption)
• 7 June 1973 – Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Senator Barry Goldwater speaks at graduation (photo)
• 6 October 1973 – Penn State at Air Force Football Program (Full, pdf 143MB)
• 3 November 1973 – Army at Air Force Football Program (Full, pdf 167MB)
• 17 November 1973 – Ticket Stubs and Will Call order, AFA vs. U. of Arizona at Tucson
• 22 November 1973 – Air Force at Notre Dame Football Program (Full, pdf 231MB)
• February 1974 – “DU Streaking Takes on Sporty Atmosphere“
• 5 May 1974 – Colorado Springs Sun, “Falcon QBs Hit Targets In Scrimmage” (image)
• 11 May 1974 – Colorado Springs Sun, “Silver Surprises Blue” (two images)
• June 1974 – An Unexpected Letter appears in the Talon (3 images, plus full pdf 57MB)
• Undated – Sheraton Motor Inn map of the South Gate area
• 1976 – Bicentennial Issue of ICARUS: A Magazine of Creative Writing (Front Matter, Contents, and The Unveiling of Ourselves, a play in one act, by Steve Stockdale)

BOX #5 — from Personal Collections

• 17 Feb 1972 – A Recruiting Letter 1972
• 21 August 1972 – Olton Enterprise, “Steve Stockdale Completes Basic“
• February 1973 – Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Burle Pettit’s “Between the Lines” (image)
• April 1973 – The Abel Family.
• October 1975 – Olton Enterprise, “Assorted Cadets”
• May 1976 – Menus from Denver’s Casa Bonita (compare 1976 to 2020)
• June 1976 – the Academy’s Public Affairs group extends PR outreach to grandmothers: Carlsbad (NM) Current-Argus, photo and caption clipped by The Carlsbad National Bank, Carlsbad, New Mexico; and Morton (TX) Tribune, “Mrs. Stockdale’s Grandson Is USAF Academy Graduate.”

Reflections on “As We Were” (1972-76)

• Campus Radicals – A video to celebrate the Spirit of ’76 in CS-39, and a tribute to the three of us who have gone, but bequeathed many memories.
• ’76 by the Numbers – Putting the Spirit of ’76 in context of the classes that came before, and after; primarily about numbers appointed, graduated, and attrition rates.
• A new motto for CS-39 Campus Radicals? If we’d only had an operative crystal ball …

Other Resources and Links

• USAFA Association of Graduates and AFA Foundation
• AOG Class Histories
• AOG Yearbooks
• AOG Class of 1976 Key Data
• 75bestalive.org – Unofficial but terrific class website hosted by Bill Estelle ’75

Acknowledgement

I must acknowledge my mother, Jo (Armstrong) Stockdale, for keeping more USAFA stuff than I ever knew I had. I wish I had understood and appreciated much earlier what she did for me by keeping all this stuff. This is for, and because of, her.