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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

June 30, 1917
Lt. Col. William "Billy" Mitchell relieved Maj. Townsend F. Dodd as Aviation Officer, American Expeditionary Force.

June 30, 1928
The U.S. won the Gordon Bennett International Balloon Race for the third successive time at Detroit. In the two-day event, Capt. William E. Kepner and Lt. W. O. Eareckson, the pilot and aide, won the trophy permanently after the 460-mile flight.

June 30, 1965
The XB-70 flew at a speed of Mach 2.85 at an altitude of 68,000 feet. In a 104-minute flight, covering 2,035 miles, the aircraft flew for 50 minutes at twice the speed of sound.

June 30, 1966
Continental Air Command announced the greatest record of productive airlift in the history of Air Force Reserve flying units. Reservists flew 14,234 missions in 83,097 flying hours to airlift 20,522 tons of cargo and 58,722 passengers in fiscal 1966.

More Milestones

Medal of Honor Tribute

Medal of Honor Recipients

Heritage News

Concentration camp survivor to fighter pilot: 'Freedom a beautiful thing'  5

Civil engineers recall, reflect 17 years after Khobar Towers bombing  2

Air Force OCC chopper retires  19

Arlington ceremony honors fallen service women

Airmen part of largest 'torchlight' parade to honor Armed Forces Day

Memorial Day: Remember our veterans  2

Senior enlisted advisers mark Armed Forces Day

Synonyms: Superman and Doolittle Raider  1

National Museum of the U.S. Air Force selected for heritage award   1

Bataan survivor helps celebrate memorial walk  2

Spotlights

Berlin Airlift

Project Score

Navaho X-10

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