United States Air Force Academy Cemetery

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United States Air Force Academy Cemetery
Map
Details
Established22 September 1958 (66 years ago)
Location
Parade Loop. Colorado Springs, El Paso County , Colorado, 80840
CountryUnited States
Coordinates39°00′55.1″N 104°51′17.8″W / 39.015306°N 104.854944°W / 39.015306; -104.854944
TypeMilitary
Owned by10th Air Base Wing
No. of graves~2,500
Websitehttps://www.usafa.af.mil/Units/10th-Air-Base-Wing/Mission-Support-Group/Mortuary-Affairs/

The United States Air Force Academy Cemetery is a cemetery at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, El Paso County, Colorado. It is administered by the 10th Air Base Wing.[1]

History[edit]

The U.S. Air Force Academy cemetery was established in 1958. It accepts burials for graduates of the Air Force Academy, along with personnel assigned to the Academy, USAF officers in the rank of Lieutenant General and above, recipients of the Air Force Cross or Medal of Honor, along with their spouses and dependent children.[2][3] As of 2020 it hosts approximately 2,500 interments.

Notable interments[edit]

  • Medal of Honor recipients
    • William J. Crawford, for action in World War II; US Army retired Master Sergeant and long-time janitor-student mentor at the Academy
  • General officers
  • Valorous Award Recipients
    • Col. Kennith F. Hite, awarded the Silver Star and three Distinguished Flying Crosses during 203 combat missions in Korea and Vietnam.
    • Col. Kelly F. Cook, combat veteran of three wars, recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal and Purple Heart. Member of the Academy's original instructional cadre when it opened in the late 1950s. Declared Missing-in-Action November 10, 1967 when his F-4 went down over Quang Tri Province.[5]
  • Purple Heart Recipients
    • Laura A. Piper, first female Air Force Academy graduate to be awarded the Purple Heart, killed April 14, 1994 (Piper was a passenger on a UH-60 Black Hawk Helicopter and was shot down due to a friendly fire incident during a non-combat humanitarian aid mission after Operation Desert Storm).
    • Maj. David L. Brodeur, died from wounds sustained from enemy gunfire. He was an advisor to the Afghan Command and Control Center under the NATO Air Training Command at the Kabul International Airport (Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan); awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart, killed April 27, 2011.
    • Maj. Philip D. Ambard, died from wounds sustained from enemy gunfire. He was an advisor to the Afghan Command and Control Center under the NATO Air Training Command at the Kabul International Airport (Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan); awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart, killed April 27, 2011.
    • Capt. David I. Lyon, killed in action from an enemy vehicle-born improvised explosive device was detonated near his convoy during Operation Enduring Freedom in Kabul, Afghanistan. He was a combat advisor, working with the Combined Joint Special Operations Task Force - Afghanistan; awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart, killed December 27, 2013.
    • Maj. Rodolfo I. Rodriguez, died from wounds sustained from an improvised explosive device at a hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan while deployed to the U.S. Embassy (Pakistan) in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. He was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Purple Heart, Meritorious Service Medal and Air Force Combat Action Medal, killed September 20, 2008.

Others[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Mortuary Affairs".
  2. ^ "Air Force Academy Cemetery, U.S.A.F. Academy, Colorado - Burial Records".
  3. ^ "Who Is Eligible to be Interred in the USAF Academy Cemetery" (PDF). Retrieved February 9, 2024.
  4. ^ "USAF Academy".
  5. ^ "Service Member Profile".

External links[edit]

39°00′56″N 104°51′17″W / 39.01556°N 104.85472°W / 39.01556; -104.85472

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