General Creech accepts the 69th colors

General Wilbur L. Creech (USAF) accepts the colors from LtCol Robert Patterson

On September 22, 1975, a dedication ceremony was held at Luke in recognition of the 10th anni-versary of the first graduating class.
A F-104 Starfighter obtained from the Puerto Rican Air National Guard and painted with GAF markings was placed on static display near Luke's main gate.
Principal speaker at the ceremony was Lt. Gen. Walter Krupinski, Commander of the GAF Tactical Air Command.
In June 1964, then Colonel Krupinski of the GAF Training Staff participated in the USAF/GAF conference at Bad Godesberg.
After more than 10 years and 1,400 graduates, the GAF F-104 program at Luke is still going strong and is a monument to continued cooperation among the USAF, GAF, and Lockheed,
which had assumed complete maintenance responsibility in 1973.

What began as a unique concept has continued as a unique success and resulted in Luke being referred to as the largest German Air Force base in the world.

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