People
The Famous Touchdown in Lowry
Throughout Lowry’s history, many well-known people have visited for work, entertainment, and leisure. Richard Byrd and his 1925 Fokker F. VII Tri-Motor airplane, “Josephine Ford,” landed at Lowry Field in 1926. Charles Lindbergh visited with his now-famous “Spirit of St. Louis” aircraft in 1927. In 1941, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy visited. In 1943, the “Brown Bomber” Sgt. Joe Louis and Cpl. “Sugar” Ray Robinson visited and put on a show in Hangar 1. Also, in 1943, Major General P.T. Mow, commander-in-chief of the Chinese Air Force, and his staff visited to inspect the detachment of Chinese cadets now in training at the armament department. In 1953, James Stewart, Francis Langford, and June Allyson, accompanied by her husband Dick Powell filmed part of the Glenn Miller story at Lowry, with the movie being released in 1954.
General Dwight Eisenhower of the Army and later as the President used Lowry as the summer Whitehouse. In 1953, President Eisenhower met with Secretary of State John Foster Dulles, who brought news of his successful talks with President Syngman Rhee of the Republic of South Korea. Also in attendance was Asst. Secretary of State for Far Eastern Affairs Walter S. Robertson and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Henry Cabot Lodge. In 1964, movie and television star Cliff Robertson stopped in to get a ride in a T-33 Jet trainer. James Drury visited Lowry in 1964, making an appearance at “Kid’s Day” activities.