Lt. Stephen W. Thompson

Lt. Stephen W. Thompson was the first in an American uniform to shoot down an enemy airplane. (U.S. Air Force photo)

Lt. Stephen W. Thompson

Lt. Stephen W. Thompson was the first American in uniform to shoot down an enemy airplane. (U.S. Air Force photo)

PACAF commander presents medallion to World War II nurse

This Noncommissioned Officers' Association World War II Veterans Medallion was presented to a member of the "Greatest Generation," Doris Avery by Gen. Gary North, in a ceremony to honor her heroism, Feb. 5, 2010, at Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Hawaii. Mrs. Avery served as a lieutenant in the Army Nurse Corps during World War II. General North is the Pacific Air Forces commander. (U.S. Air Force photo/Tech. Sgt. Jerome S. Tayborn)

Gen. Carl A. Spaatz

Gen. Carl Andrew Spaatz was selected the first Chief of Staff of the Army Air Forces. He was also the first chief of staff of the independent Air Force and a main developer of tactical air doctrine. (U.S. Air Force illustration)

First flight

With Orville Wright at the controls, the Wright Brothers conduct the first flight by man with a motor driven, heavier-than-air machine Dec. 17, 1903, at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, N.C. (Courtesy photo)

WWWII Army Air Force fighter

Maj. Shawna Kimbrell and 1st Lt. Justin Cleveland talk with Italian aviation enthusiast Sergio Maron about the World War II Army Air Force fighter wreckage found in the Adriatic Sea during a ceremony Nov. 14, 2009, at the Chioggia Lagoon in Italy. The wreckage, believed to be a P-47 Thunderbolt that crashed into the Adriatic in the mid-1940s, was recovered during a fishing expedition in May 2009. Major Kimbrell and Lieutenant Cleveland are F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots from Aviano Air Base, Italy. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman LaVel D. Sterling)