On This Day in History

1956: Hollywood films Toward the Unknown, a movie about the early “rocket pilots”, at Edwards AFB, starring William Holden and Lloyd Nolan. #afhistory #airforce #spaceforce #airmen #guardians

1955: At Great Falls AFB, the USAF forms the 91st SRS to perform a unique mission: It could launch and recover F-84F Thunderstreaks from B-36 bombers. #afhistory #airforce #airmen

2003: President George W. Bush issued an ultimatum giving Saddam Hussein and his sons 48 hours to leave Iraq. #afhistory #airforce #spaceforce #airmen #guardians

  2002: Operation ENDURING FREEDOM/SILVER STAR. A Kentucky ANG pararescue specialist, TSgt Keary Miller, cares for wounded troops and participates in a 15-hour firefight with nearby enemy forces after his Army special operations helicopter crashes

1969: APOLLO IX. Through 13 March, a Saturn V launches from Kennedy Space Center carrying Apollo IX astronauts James A. McDivitt (Colonel, USAF), the commander; David R. Scott (Co­lonel, USAF), the command module pilot; and

1965: North Vietnam shoots down Lt Hayden J. Lockhart’s F-100 during his raid against an ammo dump north of the demilitarized zone. A week later, he becomes the first USAF pilot taken as a prisoner

2002: Operation ENDURING FREEDOM/ANACONDA. The US and its coalition partners launch Operation ANACONDA in eastern Afghanistan. Using B-52s, B-1s, AC-130s, A-10s, and F-15s for air support, the coalition ground operation tries to surround and kill

2002: Operation ENDURING FREEDOM/ANACONDA. The US and its coalition partners launch Operation ANACONDA in eastern Afghanistan. Using B-52s, B-1s, AC-130s, A-10s, and F-15s for air support, the coalition ground operation tries to surround and kill

1990: Rockwell rolls out the X-31A Enhanced Fighter Maneuverability (EFM) Demonstrator at Palmdale, Calif. The X-31A developed out of a cooperative venture between Rockwell Interna­tional and Messerschmitt-Bolkow-Blohm that made it the first multinational experimental air­craft.