The Broomcorn Express, Quarterly Publication of the Broomfield Historical Society
Vol. 6, No. 1, January – March 2026
Lloyd L. (Lew) Moir, Jr.
January 19, 1936 – February 12, 2026
Lew was a former president of the Broomfield Historical Society, as well as a longtime volunteer and lecturer at the Broomfield Veterans Museum.
This excerpt from a 2023 Veterans Museum presentation provides an excellent overview of Lew’s life and career.
Lloyd L. (Lew) Moir, Jr: Colonel, USAF Active Duty: 20 August 1956– 30 September 1984.Lloyd (Lew) was born in Le Mars, Iowa on January 19, 1936. He was raised on the family farm outside of Orange City, Iowa. During his youth, he attended public schools; his first four years were in a one room county schoolhouse. While in high school, he participated in football, baseball, softball, choir, dramatics, and student government.
After two years in college at Northwestern College and Iowa State University, he entered the Aviation Cadet program. On February 4, 1958, he received his pilot’s wings and was commissioned a Second Lieutenant in the United States Air Force. As a Cadet he flew the T-34, T-28, and T-33 aircraft. Following graduation, he entered the advanced fighter training program flying the F-86F. With a follow-on assignment to fly F-100’s at George AFB, the unthinkable happened: President Eisenhower and Secretary Dulles made the decision that a sizeable tactical air force was no longer needed. National policy went with a strategic nuclear force. Six hundred tactical pilots were reassigned to the Strategic Air Command to fly the B-47, and Lew was one of them. The good thing to come out of this turn of events is that he met his wife of 63 years.
After a 28-year career in the Air Force, Lew retired on September 30, 1984, and joined IBM (International Business Machines) as a Program Manager. In that capacity, he led the development of the Battle Management/Command Control architecture for President Reagan’s “Star Wars” program. He went on to manage the upgrade of satellite ground systems, British Air Traffic Control System, and the consolidation and modernization of the British Ministry of Defense Voice and Data Communication Systems. During this period, Lockheed Martin purchased the IBM Federal Systems Division. He retired an executive manager from IBM and Lockheed Martin in March 1999.
