Willow Run B24 Production Exhibit, Michigan
www.YellowAirplane.com

A Picture of A B-24 Liberator Over the
Air Force Academy at Colorado, Springs.

Willow Run:Colossus of American Industry.  Page 5-1.
A story of the B-24 Liberator Production and Combat.
Click Here for a list of Colorado Airplane Museums.

Click Here's a picture of a B-24 Liberator on display at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

The picture of the B-24 Liberator, shown on this page, was taken by Warren Benjamin Kidder, author of "Willow Run" and "Alaska. "The Air Force Academy is currently open to visitors. Visitors to the Air Force Academy must enter through the North Gate, which can be accessed from Exit 156B on Interstate 25, 14 miles north of downtown Colorado Springs. Other areas open to visitors include the Cadet Chapel, the Field House, Arnold Hall and the Honor Court. The Visitors Center is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day. The Cadet Chapel is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday with periodic closings for chapel events. Motorcyclists must wear helmets upon entering Academy grounds. For more information, call the Visitor's Center at 719-333-2025.    Click Here for a list of Museums in Colorado.
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Mission: To educate, train and inspire men and women to become officers of character, motivated to lead the United States Air Force in service to our nation.

 

Picture of a B-24 Liberator on display in front of the United States Air Force Academy, Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Picture taken by Warren Benjamin Kidder.
Picture Scanned by C. Jeff Dyrek

 

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  Click Here to see the Script Release for  
  "Willow Run The Eighth Air Force WW2 Movie"
 

U.S. Air Force Academy


Mission: To educate, train and inspire men and women to become officers of character, motivated to lead the United States Air Force in service to our nation.

The idea surfaced almost six decades ago, but did not become a reality until April 1, 1954, when President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the bill establishing the U.S. Air Force Academy.

      Many of America's pioneer airmen advocated the creation of an academy to prepare officers especially for the air service.  One of them, Brig. Gen. William "Billy" Mitchell, tried in vain to persuade first, the government, then, private interests to establish such a school.

      In 1948, the Air Force appointed a board of leading civilian and military educators to plan the curriculum for an Air Force academy.  The idea made little progress outside the Air Force, until 1949 when Secretary of Defense James Forrestal appointed a board of military and civilian educators.  This board headed by Dwight D. Eisenhower, then president of Columbia University, and Robert L. Stearns, president of the University of Colorado, was tasked to recommend a general system of education for the Army, Navy and Air Force.

      In 1950, this board found the needs of the Air Force could not be met by a desirable expansion of the older service academies. The board recommended that an Air Force academy be established without delay and proposed that, in peacetime, not less than 40 percent of the regular officers taken into each service should be academy graduates.

      Congress authorized creation of the Air Force Academy in 1954. Harold E. Talbott, then secretary of the Air Force, appointed a commission to assist him in selecting the permanent site. After traveling 21,000 miles and considering 580 proposed sites in 45 states, the commission recommended three locations.   From those, Secretary Talbott selected the site near Colorado Springs. The state of Colorado contributed 1 million toward the purchase of the property.

     

On July 11, 1955, the same year construction began, the first class of 306 men were sworn in at a temporary site at Lowry Air Force Base, Denver. Lt. Gen. Hubert R. Harmon, a key figure in the development of the Academy since 1949, was recalled from retirement to become the first superintendent.

Two years later, Maj. Gen. Briggs took over as the Academy's second superintendent. During his tour, on Aug. 29, 1958, the wing of 1,145 cadets moved to its present site from Denver. Less than a year later the Academy received accreditation.  On March 3, 1964, the authorized strength of the Cadet Wing was increased to 4,417 and later reduced to its present number of 4,000.

     

      Perhaps the most controversial event in academy history was the admission of women. President Gerald R. Ford signed legislation Oct. 7, 1975, permitting women to enter the nation's military academies.  Women entered the Air Force Academy for the first time on June 28, 1976.  The first class with women graduated in May 1980.

 

 

Order Willow Run, the Book. 
To Order 
Your Personal Autographed Copy, Send Check or Money Order to:

KFT Publishers,
3617 Christine Dr.
Lansing, MI. 48911

For Information Contact
Email: kidderfr@ATT.net Phone 517- 394-2849

Click Here to visit the Air Force Academy official web site.
   Here's another Book Review about a B-24 Pilot in WW2, Jessie Pettey.

An Article by the webmaster

Webmasters Note.  After reading this book and talking to my friend, who I always called my second dad,
I found that my friend, Frank Simpson, was the duty driver for
James Stuart, Glenn Ford, Robert Cummings and David Nivin, while he was stationed at the Air Force Academy.

Click Here's Warren Benjamin Kidders New Book, The Mighty Eighth Air Force Click Here's the Movie Script for Willow Run

 

Y-I-BET on the Youth of America.

Youth Innovative Business Environment Training.

A Better way for kids to learn about technology, aviation and industry.  This is an extensive exhibit that had hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of dollars put into making it.  The original concept of the Y-I-BET Program was designed by C. Jeff Dyrek

Stephanie Visits the 183 Fighter Squadron and Lots more
Veterans,  Read This



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