Harmon Lectures

In 1959 the United States Air Force Academy’s Department of History began the Harmon Memorial Lecture Series on Military History in memory of Lt. Gen. Hubert R. Harmon, first superintendent and “father” of the Academy. The series supported two goals: to further encourage the awakened interest in military history that evolved after World War II and to stimulate cadets to develop a lifelong interest in the history of the military profession. Each year thereafter, a committee of nationally known civilian historians and Academy representatives selected an outstanding military historian to be the annual lecturer. Beginning in 1970, the Harmon Lecture also served as the keynote address for the Academy’s biennial Military History Symposium. This collection of the first thirty Harmon Memorial Lectures reflects the evolution in scholarship of prominent scholars working in military history over the past three decades. In keeping with the purpose of the series, the Academy publishes and distributes each lecture to Air Force and Department of Defense agencies, university libraries, and scholars throughout the United States and abroad. A number of lectures are used in courses at the Academy, and we receive many requests for them from civilian scholars and military personnel. Consequently, the Academy’s Department of History and the Office of Air Force History have decided to publish the first thirty lectures under one cover, thereby making them more available. In this way, we continue to honor the memory of General Harmon, who during his lifetime developed a deep and abiding interest in military history and contributed so much to establishing the United States Air Force Academy.

WINFIELD W. SCOTT, Lieutenant General, USAF Superintendent, USAF Academy