The US Air Force is born, September 18, 1947

Today in 1947, the United States Air Force officially became a separate branch of the armed forces. I use the term “officially” because the service was actually created by the National Security Act of 1947, which became law on July 26, 1947. However, it was on this day that Stuart Symington became the first Secretary of the Air Force, putting the service on an equal footing with the Army and Navy.