On August 28-29, powerful monsoon storms laid low the lone statue on the Arizona State Capitol Mall: That of World War One Ace Frank Luke Jr. for whom Luke Air Force Base is named. Gouges in the branch of a nearby palo verde indicated it probably smacked the statue right off its high pedestal.

Maintenance crews took the statue the following weekend, but returned it September 22 with a new coat of varnish. They also sawed off the dangerous branch.

The statue and base had previously been knocked down by a drunk driver early New Year’s Day in 1963, when it was closer to 17th Avenue and Washington went straight west, instead of diverting to Adams as it now does.