Vice President Mike Pence delivered a commencement address to the U.S. Air Force Academy’s 2020 graduating class on Saturday. The speech was a symbolic nod to normalcy and one aimed at showing the country is on a course to gradually reopen after weeks of the coronavirus shutdown. But the event that usually attracts a big crowd in Colorado Springs, Colorado, was far different this year. Friends and family were barred from attending. Instead of gathering at the school's stadium, hundreds of graduating cadets in blue and white dress uniforms sat eight feet apart on the school's parade field and donned masks once the ceremony ended. Pence said he hoped the ceremony would inspire those watching at home.
David Zalubowski/AP
U.S. Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett, left, bumps elbows to greet Vice President Mike Pence during the graduation ceremony for the class of 2020 at the U.S. Air Force Academy Saturday, April 18, 2020, at Air Force Academy, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
Posted
and last updated
Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
