ANDREWS AFB, Md. –
The Air Force Historical Foundation has announced its annual awards banquet for Oct. 6 in Arlington, Va.
The banquet will feature Gen. Ronald R. Fogleman, former Chief of Staff of the Air Force, as the guest speaker, and the Foundation will present four prestigious awards during the banquet.
"The awards banquet provides an opportunity for the Air Force Historical Foundation to present four important awards to people who either made important Air Force history or wrote and taught well about air power history," said Col. (Ret.) Tom Bradley, the Air Force Historical Foundation executive director.
The awards include the second annual General Carl "Tooey" Spaatz Award for sustained, significant contributions to the making of Air Force history to Maj. Gen. (Ret.) John R. Alison. Mr. Alison worked with the Royal Air Force and the Soviet air forces on Lend-Lease activities prior to U.S. entry into World War II, was a member of Lt. Gen. Claire Lee Chennault's Flying Tigers, and later in the war was Deputy Commander of the First Air Commando Force.
The Foundation will also present its second annual Maj. Gen. I. B. Holley Award for sustained, significant contributions to the research, interpretation, and documentation of Air Force history to Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Alfred F. Hurley. Mr. Hurley was chair of the U.S. Air Force Academy's Department of History for 14 years, President and Chancellor of the University of North Texas for 18 years, Chancellor of the University of North Texas System for two years, and from which position he took emeritus status to return to the classroom for five years as Professor of History.
In addition, the Foundation will present its Air Power History Best Article Award to Lt. Col. (Ret.) Donald R. Baucom for "Wakes of War: Contrails and the Rise of Air Power, 1918-1945," in Air Power History, Summer & Fall 2007.
The fourth award presented is the Best Air Power History Book Award to Col. (Ret.) Stephen P. Randolph, for Powerful and Brutal Weapons: Nixon, Kissinger, and the Easter Offensive (Cambridge, Mass: Harvard University Press, 2007).
"The awardees and their friends and colleagues from the era represent a huge slice of Air Force history, and I believe it will benefit current Airmen to meet and talk about the great legacy of air power with people who made that history, in some cases more than 70 years ago," said Mr. Bradley.
The awards banquet will be preceded by two events to include "Ops Talks" at 4:30 p.m. and a reception at 6 p.m. prior to the banquet, which is at 7 p.m.
The "Ops Talks" is an informal talk on current U.S. Air Force issues and questions and answers session featuring Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance.
Anyone wishing to attend may register online at
www.afhistoricalfoundation.org.