The newly-renovated Utah Aviation Hall of Fame, located at the Hill Aerospace Museum, officially opened to the public at a ribbon-cutting Oct. 14.
The Utah Aviation Hall of Fame, established in 1996 by Governor Mike Leavitt, recognizes individuals in the State of Utah who have distinguished themselves through heroic accomplishments as civil or military aviators, or by fostering exceptionally noteworthy advances in Utah’s aviation programs.
The overarching goal of the Utah Aviation Hall of Fame program is to cultivate public awareness and appreciation for the contributions of such worthy individuals to air power, and to encourage the continued development of aviation throughout the state.
The Utah Aviation Hall of Fame has been located at the Hill Aerospace Museum since its inception.
Originally, the recognition area was located in a hallway between the Hadley and Lindquist/Stewart Galleries. In 2014, a location in the Museum became available that would give the Utah Aviation Hall of Fame a more prominent setting near the entrance.
In 2015, the Utah State Legislature appropriated $150,000 to fund the relocation of the Hall of Fame. Additional funding for the project was provided through a generous gift from The ALSAM Foundation of Salt Lake City.
Each year, near Memorial Day, a new person is inducted at a ceremony held at the museum. The 32nd Flight (Pioneer) of the Order of Daedalians, the National Fraternity of Military Pilots, is the sponsor and custodial agency for the program housed at the Hill Aerospace Museum.
Current Utah Aviation Hall of Fame inductees are:
Maj. Gen. Orvil A. Anderson
Lt. Col. Paul Bloomquist
Gen. John Kenneth Cannon
Vern and Jessie Carter
Brig. Gen. Darrell Stuart Cramer
Maj. Gen. William E. Creer
Emmett “Cyclone” Davis
Col. Glenn Todd Eagleston
Capt. Richard Taylor Eastmond
Col. Bernard F. Fisher
Jacob Edwin Garn
Sen. Jake Garn
Lt. Cdr. William E. Hall
Col. Gail Halvorsen
Robert H. Hinckley
Col. Lorin Lavar Johnson
Lt. Col. Clifford Dale Jolley
Col. Willard R. Macfarlane
Col. Russell L. Maughan
Ardeth “Art” Mortensen
Alberta Hunt Nicholson
Lt. Col. Chase J. Nielsen
Maj. Gen. Chesley Gordon Peterson
Maj. Alden P. Rigby
Brig. Gen. Rhard C. Sanders
Col. Walter T. Stewart
Capt. Harold A. Sweet
Brig. Gen. Paul W. Tibbets
Lt. Wendell Van Twelves
The renovation of the new Utah Aviation Hall of Fame is now complete and can be visited at the Hill Aerospace Museum, 7961 Wardleigh Road, Building 1955, Hill AFB, Utah. You can easily get to the museum by taking Exit 338 off of Interstate 15 in Roy, Utah.
