Today in History – July 11, 1955 – USAFA dedication at Lowry AFB

11 July 1955 – The U. S. Air Force Academy is dedicated at its temporary location, Lowry Air Force Base, Denver, CO. The first class of 306 Cadets are sworn in at Lowry and were housed in renovated World War II barracks until the Colorado Springs location construction was complete in August 1958.

From 1937 to 1994, Lowry Air Force Base, located on the eastern edge of the city of Denver, served the nation and the surrounding community in many distinguished ways. The airbase, primarily a technical training center, graduated more than 1.1 million enlisted members and officers in skills ranging from armament to photography, tremendously strengthening the country’s war efforts in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, and the Cold War. In addition, from the 1980s, Lowry Air Force Base remained one of Colorado’s largest employers, with approximately 10,000 military and civilian men and women.

Source: WingsMuseum and  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portal:Aviation/Anniversaries/July_11

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