The Graduate Heritage Projects

Graduate Awards



In early 2014 The Friends took on the challenge of creating a database detailing the lives of graduates honored with a variety of exceptional achievement awards. These awards included the Distinguished Graduate Award and the Distinguished Service Award. As part of a multi-year set of heritage projects supported by The Friends of The Air Force Academy Library, this effort reflects The Friends commitment to being a premiere Academy organization in recording and preserving the heritage of the Air Force Academy. The project’s continuing goal is to assemble all the available material dealing with the adult lives of these Air Force Academy graduates and future award recipients.

The graduate database is currently in the process of being migrated from legacy software to a more modern, user accessible interface. Until complete, data will be unavailable. Please check back frequently as this process continues.

The Distinguished Graduate Award

It is a unique honor bestowed by the U.S. Air Force Academy and its Association of Graduates, recognizing exceptional graduates who have set themselves apart by making extraordinarily significant contributions to our nation and/or their communities. Distinguished Graduates provide inspirational examples to all graduates and cadets of the standards that we value and of the abilities that have made our country and society great. The award was first presented in 2001 to General Ronald R Fogleman ’63 and Mr. Harry J Pearce ’64.

The Distinguished Service Award

The Air Force Academy established this award in February 1999. Each year the award is presented by the Superintendent to an individual or organization whose contributions have had a distinct impact on the morale and well-being of the Academy. The Distinguished Service Award recognizes those who contribute to the betterment of the Academy through their personal generosity and dedication to the institution.

Previously there was no central location for information about the recipients of prestigious awards presented by the Academy and the Association of Graduates. Nor was much existing information on awardees readily accessible. If you have any information you wish to be considered for inclusion in this data base, you may contact The Friends. We encourage you to enjoy the fruits of this historic project. The Friends believe this project will have a lasting impact for decades to come, indeed as long as the Academy exists.


Distinguished Graduates


Ronald Fogelman
Class of 1963
2001
Harry Pearce
Class of 1964
2001
Paul Kaminski
Class of 1964
2002
Robert Oaks
Class of 1959
2002
Bradley Hosmer
Class of 1959
2003
Richard Schlosberg
Class of 1965
2003

Frederick Gregory
Class of 1964
2004
Ronald Yates
Class of 1960
2004
H. T. Johnson
Class of 1959
2005
Michael Ryan
Class of 1965
2005
Robert Beckel
Class of 1959
2006
Edward Mechenbier
Class of 1964
2006

Ervin Rokke
Class of 1962
2007
Gregg Popovich
Class of 1970
2007
John Martinson
Class of 1970
2008
Donald Shepperd
Class of 1962
2008
John M. Loh
Class of 1960
2009
Heather Wilson
Class of 1982
2009

Max James
Class of 1964
2010
Ralph Eberhart
Class of 1968
2010
Ruben Cubero
Class of 1961
2011
Richard McConn
Class of 1966
2011
Marcus Anderson
Class of 1961
2012
Edward Legasey
Class of 1967
2012

Bart Holaday
Class of 1965
2013
William Looney
Class of 1972
2013
Thomas Eller
Class of 1961
2014
Kevin Chilton
Class of 1976
2014
Gregory Martin
Class of 1970
2015
Paul Madera
Class of 1978
2015

George Butler
Class of 1961
2016
Charles Holland
Class of 1968
2016
Gary Payton
Class of 1971
2016
R. David Yost
Class of 1969
2016
John Fox
Class of 1963
2017
T. Allan McArtor
Class of 1964
2017

Steve Lorenz
Class of 1973
2017
John Inglis
Class of 1976
2018
Edward Jayne II
Class of 1966
2018
H. Michael Lambert
Class of 1970
2018
Mark Welsh III
Class of 1976
2018
Leslie Denend
Class of 1963
2019

John Kucera
Class of 1978
2019
Edward Rice Jr.
Class of 1978
2019
Norton Schwartz
Class of 1973
2019
Fletcher Wiley
Class of 1965
2019
Gail Colvin
Class of 1980
2020
Jay Kelley
Class of 1964
2020

Ron Sega
Class of 1974
2020
Hugh Williamson III
Class of 1964
2020
Leonard Ekman
Class of 1963
2021
William Wecker
Class of 1963
2021
Eugene Lupia
Class of 1967
2021
Hans Mueh
Class of 1966
2022

   
Susan Desjardins
Class of 1980
2022
David Goldfein
Class of 1983
2022
Terrence O'Donnell
Class of 1966
2023
John Hopper Jr.
Class of 1969
2023
   
   

Distinguished Service Graduates


 
Jock Schwank
Class of 1960
2011
Edward Legasey
Class of 1967
2012
Bart Holaday
Class of 1965
2013
John Fox
Class of 1963
2017
Bob Munson
Class of 1973
2021