66 percent of Pacific air force assets destroyed in hours

A burned U.S. B -17C after the Empire of Japan attacked Wheeler Air Field Dec. 7, 1941. The attack well known for crippling the U.S. Pacific Naval Fleet also left approximately 700 U.S Airmen killed or wounded and 66 percent of the Air Force strength in Hawaii decimated. The Japanese lost only 29 pilots from more than 350 planes launched from aircraft carriers north of Hawaii. (Courtesy Photo/Tai Sing Loo, Pearl Harbor's main cameraman 1918 to 1948)

Wheeler, Hawaii, Dec. 7, 1941

Resourceful aircrews remove parts from a P-40 destroyed in the Dec. 7, 1941 attack on Wheeler Air Base for us on other repairable aircraft.

Wheeler, Hawaii, Dec. 7, 1941

Members of the Hawaiian Air Force's Headquarters Squadron, 17th Tow Target Squadron and 23d Materiel Squadron watch Japanese high-Ievel horizontal bombers heading toward Pearl Harbor Dec. 7, 1941. (John W. Wilson)

Wheeler, Hawaii, Dec. 7, 1941

A report entitled “7 December 1941: The Air Force Story” compiled by the Pacific Air Forces Office of History obtained this photo of Wheeler Air Field taken by a Japanese Empire pilot to record the battle damage to the U.S. Air Forces Dec. 7, 1941.

Old Glory Dec. 7, 1941

Old Glory waves over Hickam Field, bearing silent witness to the brutality of the Japanese attack Dec. 7, 1941. This same flag later flew above the United Nations charter meeting in San Francisco, over the Big Three conference at Potsdam, and above the White House Aug. 14, 1945 when the Japanese accepted terms of surrender. It was part of a historical display at the Air Force Academy until returned for permanent display at Hickam Air Force Base in 1980. (Air Force Photo)

Korean War Armistice

(U.S. Air Force graphic/Corey Parrish)

Former U-2 pilot posthumously awarded Silver Star

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz presents the Silver Star, posthumously awarded to Capt. Francis Gary Powers, to the captain’s grandchildren, Francis Gary “Trey” Powers III and Lindsey Barry, on June 15, 2012, in the Pentagon. Captain Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960, and received the decoration for the heroism he displayed while held prisoner by the Soviets. He was released in 1962 but subsequently died in a 1977 helicopter crash. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Christina Brownlow)

Former U-2 pilot posthumously awarded Silver Star

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz celebrates with Gary Powers Jr. and Dee Powers, children of Capt. Francis Gary Powers, after Schwartz presented the captain’s posthumous Silver Star to the family on June 15, 2012, in the Pentagon. Captain Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960, and received the decoration for the heroism he displayed while held prisoner by the Soviets. He was released in 1962 but subsequently died in a 1977 helicopter crash. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)

Former U-2 pilot posthumously awarded Silver Star

Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Norton Schwartz presents the Silver Star, posthumously awarded to Capt. Francis Gary Powers, to the captain’s grandchildren, Francis Gary “Trey” Powers III and Lindsey Barry, on June 15, 2012, in the Pentagon. Captain Powers was shot down over the Soviet Union on May 1, 1960, and received the decoration for the heroism he displayed while held prisoner by the Soviets. He was released in 1962 but subsequently died in a 1977 helicopter crash. (U.S. Air Force photo/Scott M. Ash)

Doolittle Raid 70th anniversary

Surviving Doolittle Raider Major Thomas C. Griffin, navigator of the #9 plane, greets attendees of a banquet to honor the Raiders during their 70th reunion at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, April 19, 2012. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Bennie J. Davis III)

Former POW shares reintegration tips with reservists and their families

Then-Capt. Lee Ellis arrives at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala., in 1973, after spending more than five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. Ellis shared his tips for reintegration with Air Force reservists and their family members at a Yellow Ribbon event in San Diego on Feb. 25, 2012. (Courtesy photo)

Retired Chief Master Sgt. Francis Collier

Retired Chief Master Sgt. Francis Collier receives a commemorative graphic and challenge coin from Chief Master Sgt. Corliss Johnson, the vice president of the National Capital Region Chiefs Group, while his wife, Lillian, looks on during a ceremony Oct. 29, 2011, at the Air Force Memorial in Arlington, Va. Collier was one of 625 Airmen promoted to the new grade chief master sergeant as a result of the Career Compensation Act of 1958. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Staff Sgt. Tiffany Trojca)