Retired SMSgt. Norman R. “Jack” Matthews died March 8 at age 92, reports the Suffolk News-Herald. Matthews was an aerial gunner sent to the Philippines with other airmen in late 1941 to await their airplanes during World War II. They joined with land forces to fight the Japanese when they invaded the island. Matthews survived the infamous Bataan Death March and served 27 years in the Air Force. (Read more on the death march in Air Force Magazine’s 1995 Valor article)
The rate of building B-21 bombers would speed up if the fiscal 2026 defense budget passes. But it remains unclear how much capacity would be added, and whether the Air Force would simply build the bombers faster, or buy more.