In the beginning – well, almost…

 

Dave Connaughton and I were separated at birth, but met again in 1963 under a bed in Vandenberg Hall. Recruited by the legendary hedonist David Samuel, we became for a while the dualing pens of the Dodo, and our lives were changed forever.

This Web site is the beginning of the fulfillment of an old promise – to try to capture and collect in one place the history of the Dodo – the cadet newspaper of the United States Air Force Academy.

Like most college publications, the Dodo enjoyed a love/hate relationship with its overseers – light on the love, actually. But over the early years of the academy, we believe it served a valuable purpose – bringing a little humor into a serious, challenging and pressure-filled environment.

Everything you see and read here is our responsibility alone – well, there were a few other well intentioned deviants who contributed mightily – and should therefor share in the collective blame.

One last note: we do not represent nor have we ever had a relationship with the eDodo – an enterprise that must stand on its own.

This is very much a work in progress, as our lives have been since those first fateful days in Colorado.

Please enjoy, critique and contribute – our emails are available at the AOG site.

With warmest regards,

 

Michael Ditmore, ’65  and Dave Connaughton, ’65

 

 

… and in the end.

 

 

The Dodo Lives partners note with sadness the passing of David Samuel, the wildly imaginative and talented Dodo editor who held the reins in 1964 and set the tone for years to come. He was a mentor and friend to the owners of this web site, at and after USAFA, a great pilot and party instigator, agitating martinets and loved by everyone else.

Rest in Peace, Crazy Sam, your memory is a blessing.

See more at https://supersabresociety.com/headed_west/david-b-samuel-col-usaf-ret-headed-west-on-september-24-2020/