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  • USAF Awards and Decorations

    Note: This exhibit is located in the connecting link between the World War II and Korean War Galleries.The U.S. Air Force bestows awards on individual military personnel and civilians in recognition of their heroism, self-sacrifice, outstanding achievement or other forms of service. Generally,

  • USAF Chiefs of Staff

    The Department of the Air Force manages all elements of the U.S. Air Force. It is administered by a civilian secretary appointed by the president and is supervised by a military chief of staff. The chief of staff, U.S. Air Force, is appointed by the president from among the Air Force general

  • USAF Aces of Two Wars

    Many American pilots with World War II experience fought in Korea. Francis Gabreski, Vermont Garrison and Harrison Thyng were three of the six USAF Korean War aces who were also WWII aces. (The others were Majs. George Davis Jr., James Hagerstrom and William Whisner.)Francis "Gabby" Gabreski was the

  • USAF Fighter Gunnery Competition Trophy

    This trophy represents the continuation of the pre-World War II Army Air Corps tradition of aerial gunnery excellence into the newly formed United States Air Force. It commemorates the outstanding achievement of four Air Force units in both the 1949 and 1950 service-wide competitions.The 1949

  • USAAF Tactical Ground Attack in Southern Europe

    The 12th Air Force was the U.S. Army Air Forces' tactical arm in southern Europe from 1943 to the end of the war in 1945. The 12th Air Force played a key role in the success of the four major amphibious landings in southern Europe and in breaking the enemy's entrenched defensive lines in

  • USAAF Tactical Ground Attack in Western Europe

    The 9th Air Force was the tactical arm of the USAAF in western Europe from 1943 to the end of the war in 1945. The aircrews of the 9th Air Force "softened" the enemy before the invasion of Normandy, supported ground forces on D-Day and made possible their rapid advance through France to the Nazi

  • Uniforms from Ploesti Mission

    Lt. Raymond P. "Jack" Warner was a navigator on one of the B-24s that bombed the oil refineries at Ploesti on Aug. 1, 1943. Immediately after bomb release he was firing a .50-cal. nose gun dueling at tree-top level with anti-aircraft batteries. Enemy shrapnel nearly severed his left arm, but he was

  • U.S. Cadets in Italy

    Meanwhile, in Italy, 406 U.S. cadets had been graduated as pilots from the Italian primary flying course at Foggia. Of these 406 new pilots, 121 had received advance training as bombardment pilots at Italian schools. Most of these Americans were immediately transferred to France, but 65 of them

  • U.S. Entry into World War I

    The United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917. Although the reasons were varied and complex, the one having the greatest emotional impact upon the "average American" was Germany's introduction of unrestricted submarine warfare following the sinking of the Lusitania in 1915.Click here to

  • U.S. Army Ballooning Renewed

    The rise of civilian sport ballooning and the personal interest of two Signal Corps balloon pilots, Lt. Frank P. Lahm and Capt. Charles DeForest Chandler, renewed the U.S. Army ballooning program.U.S. Army balloonists participated in the Gordon Bennett balloon competition, in which the team that