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Meet Paul Lasen
Paul Lasen, along with 207 other cadets, graduated from the United States Air Force Academy on June, 3, 1959. He mar-
ried Barbara Jean, the love of his life, a few hours after the graduation ceremony.
By Maureen Griffin
Have you ever noticed how many
military veteran vehicle license
plates we have in Sun City?
Every branch of service is represented,
and many plates recognize the valor of
the veteran: Purple Heart, Silver Star,
Bronze Star, Distinguished Flying Cross
and more. The license plate is the only
public expression these veterans permit.
We rarely learn of their specific acts of
heroism.
Recently, one of our residents, Sally
Wolfe, alerted Sun Rays that her friend,
Paul Lasen, was to be recognized as the
oldest living graduate of the first Air Force the name of North American Aviation,
Academy class (1959) at the 2017 Air Force
Academy graduation week in Colorado
Springs. True to form, Lasen didn’t share
the news with Wolfe, rather she learned
about the honor from his family. “He’s a
pretty spectacular guy who really doesn’t
like any notoriety,” Wolfe said.
In the 1930s, airplanes were built one at
a time. In 1940 as war spread in Europe,
76 | SUNRAYS JULY 2017
demand for airplanes increased. With
a projected need of 50,000 airplanes
annually, President Franklin Roosevelt
requested Congress authorize funding to
expand factory space and the workforce to
meet production quotas. With Congress’
approval, the National Defense Advisory
Committee determined the best way to
achieve the goal was to apply the assembly of the United States Army since the first
line techniques used in automobile
manufacturing to aircraft production.
Factories were placed throughout the
Midwest. One such plant was built at
an existing airport on the banks of the
Missouri River in Kansas City. Though
funded and built by the United States
government, the plant was operated under
Inc. In the four short years the Kansas
City plant operated (1942-1945), 6,608
B-25 bombers were built.
The Kansas City plant had a profound
impact on an eight-year-old Paul Lasen.
His mother was a riveter at the plant,
and young Paul became obsessed with
airplanes. Planes flew directly over their
PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL LASEN
house, and he can still recall how loud
the planes were upon take-off. Paul
knew every type of airplane by sight,
constructed models of airplanes, and
that’s how his lifelong love of airplanes
began. He was destined to become a pilot.
The Air Force existed as an air division
airplane was purchased by the military
in 1909 and wasn’t established as a
separate branch of service until 1947.
With the value of aircraft in warfare
proven during the war, the need for an
Air Force educational institution in the
tradition of the United States Military
Academy at West Point and the United
States Naval Academy at Annapolis
was addressed. Congress authorized the
creation of the United States Air Force
Academy in 1954. After a nationwide
location search, including a test flight to
assess the area wind currents by Charles
Lindberg, Colorado Springs, Colorado was
chosen. Construction of the AFA began
in 1955.
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