USAFA Class Heritage Class of 1963

Keith Lockhart was born Dec 30, 1939, in Greenview, Illinois. After high school he attended Bainbridge Prep School and Air Force basic training before entering the Air Force Academy the summer of 1959. He is a member of USAFA Class of ’63 and was in 8th Squadron during his Academy tenure. Upon graduation, he attended Navigator Training at James Connally AFB, TX, and then attended Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO) training at Mather AFB, CA. He then transitioned to B-52 crew training at Castle AFB, CA, whereupon he was assigned to the 28th Bomb Wing at Ellsworth AFB, S.D. During his tour there, he deployed TDY two times to Anderson AFB, Guam, where he flew over 80 Linebacker combat missions over North and South Vietnam. He was subsequently medically grounded and assigned duties at the AF Satellite Control Facility in Sunnyvale, CA. When he regained flying status, he was assigned as a Drone Launch Officer flying in C-130s at both Edwards AFB, CA and Hill AFB, UT. He was then assigned research duties at Wright Patterson AFB, OH, for one tour. His final active duty assignment was as an EWO once again flying B-52s at Minot AFB, N.D. After 20 years on active duty, Major Lockhart retired to Lewisville, TX, where he worked as a civilian scheduling officer for two DoD contractors: first Texas Instruments and later Raytheon. He was an avid student of wildlife bird activities and took numerous trips over a 40-year period to observe and catalog hundreds of species. He was also a past president of the Dallas Chapter of the Audabon Society.

Major Lockhart died August 17, 2024. He is survived by his wife of over 60 years Linda, his two daughters Laura and DeAnna, and his son Keith. He is interred at the Dallas Fort Worth National Cemetery.

35th Reunion (1998): After graduating from high school in Greenville, IL, I attended the Naval Academy Prep School at Bainbridge, MD, and entered USAFAwith the Class of 1963. After graduation I became a navigator/electronic warfare officer and flew combat missions in Vietnam in B-52s while stationed at Ellsworth AFB, SD. I then had an operations officer assignment at the Air Force Satellite Control Facility in San Jose, CA for two years. My next assignment was flying in DC-130s at Edwards AFB, CA with a subsequent move to Hill AFB, UT, doing research and testing for unmanned aerial vehicles. That was followed by Headquarters TAC liaison assignment at Wright-Patterson AFB, OH and eventually back to SAC at Minot AFB, ND in a staff planning position before my retirement in 1982. I was then employed for 12 years at Texas Instruments in Dallas, TX, and was involved in marketing and project management for several defense projects. I have also worked with a lawyer doing estate planning seminars and am currently a consultant for project management and teach software training classes for scheduling tools used in for construction and defense projects. I married Linda Ferguson, the sister of Mike Ferguson, also in our class. We have a son and two daughters, three granddaughters, and one grandson. We currently live in Highland Village, TX, a Dallas suburb. Church activities and my hobby of bird watching keep me busy in my spare time. I have served on the board of directors and as president for the Dallas County Audubon Society and served on the worship committee at our church. I also served on the national board of directors for the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems.