Life size bronze sculpture

Sculptor:  Mark Austin Byrd &
Jenelle Armstrong Byrd

Commission by the Association of Graduates of the USAF Academy as gift to the USAF Academy

Valmore "Val" Bourque was the first graduate of the Academy to die in combat.  His C-123 cargo plane was shot down on the Vietnamese and Cambodia border and he and his 6 crew and passengers are listed on the Vietnam Memorial Wall as the first casualties in Cambodia. 

Ironically, Bourque was also the first cadet sworn on when the new USAF Academy opened