Chronology
(Entries in italics are fictional)
1947: The National Security Act of 1947 established the United States Air Force (USAF) as a separate and equal branch to the Army and Navy.
1948: Officers and educators meet at USAF’s Air University to discuss the creation of an Air Force Academy, but they do not recommend a location.
1949: Air Force Secretary Symington creates an initial Site Selection Board, appoints war-hero Major General Hank McCluney as a member.
1949: Denver Post article by Tony Rafelli, “West Point of the Air” prompts Joe Reich, owner of the Swiss Chalet Restaurant in Colorado Springs, to convince the Chamber of Commerce to establish a committee to compete for USAF Academy.
1950: Real estate mogul George Delante procures several thousand acres in south Colorado Springs in an attempt to hold a monopoly on land proposed for a USAF Academy site.
1952: A Farnborough Airshow DH.110 crash kills 29 spectators; a heroic rescue effort led by recent West Point graduate Lieutenant Whitney motivates Jean-Claude Simone to attend the new Air Force Academy when it opens.
1953: The top three sites for the USAF Academy are identified as Colorado Springs, CO; Alton, IL; Geneva, WI. The Site Committee’s report is tabled after considering 580 proposed sites in 45 different states and traveling 18,852 miles.
1954: Air Force Secretary E. Harold Talbott appoints a new Site Selection Commission; members included Charles Lindberg and Major General Hank McCluney.
1954: In Alton, IL, and Geneva, WI, George Delante and other activists from Colorado Springs covertly participate in protests against the final Site Committee visits
1954: In Washington, D.C., George Delante attempts to blackmail Major General McCluney to influence the Site Selection Committee to pick Colorado Springs.
1954: The Site Commission dismisses the southern Colorado Springs site for the USAF Academy; George Delante is bankrupted by the decision.
1954: A last-ditch effort by the Colorado Springs Chamber of Commerce convinces the Commission to consider a far-north city site. Charles Lindberg pilots the Commission in a plane to inspect the northern Colorado Springs site.
1954: George Delante dumps his land in south Colorado Springs and deceitfully procures 1,000 acres of prairie east of the proposed USAF Academy northern site.
25 June 1954: Secretary Talbott announces the Academy will reside in Colorado
1954: USAF General Order No. 1 activates the USAF Academy and designates Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, CO as the temporary USAF Academy site
1954: Congress passes legislation to begin construction of the Air Force Academy in far northwest Colorado Springs
11 July 1955: The first class of cadets enters the United States Air Force Academy at Lowry AFB
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