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Heritage

The Heritage section is dedicated to the former Airmen who developed the independent Air Force and continue its evolution into cyberspace. The subsections provide an overview of important people and milestones. The data has biographical profiles and citations for Medal of Honor recipients along with spotlights featuring important dates in Air Force heritage. The people, events and equipment of the past are integral to understanding the future.

This Week in History

October 7, 1918
Lts. S.R. Keesler and H. R. Riley of the 24th Aero Squadron went on a special reconnaissance mission and were attacked in flight by four German fighters. Keesler tried to drive off the Germans with his machine gun, but the attackers shot them down behind enemy lines. Keesler died the next day from his wounds, and received the Distinguished Service Cross posthumously.

October 7, 1919
The Army conducted reliability and endurance testing from New York to San Francisco and back, with 44 planes making the westbound leg, 15 the eastbound, and 10 the complete round trip. Lt. B. W. Maynard in a DH-4 had the best east-west and round-trip times, while Maj. Carl A. Spaatz in a DH-4B had the fastest west-east flight.

October 7, 1943
The 422nd Bomb Squadron dispatched four aircraft on a leaflet-dropping mission over Paris to begin special operations from the United Kingdom.10

October 7, 1950
The U.S. Air Force dropped food to a group of 150 former prisoners of war, who had escaped during the North Korean retreat.

More Milestones

Medal of Honor Tribute

Medal of Honor Receipients

Heritage News

Lost Johnny Carson film found at March

Elmendorf P38 Lightning  6

13th Air Force inactivates, merges with PACAF  |  VIDEO

Special Tactics Airmen earn Silver Star, Bronze Star, Purple Heart  3

First shuttle trainer introduced by NASA astronauts  |  VIDEO

Airman missing from WWII identified  2

Former SAC commander dies  5

Space shuttle arrives home for one last 'endeavor'

Never forget: World War II Airman, POW shares story of resiliency  12

Slideshow: Phantom in the water

Spotlights

Berlin Airlift

Project Score

Navaho X-10

Inside AF.mil

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