Following a meeting of service chiefs a month earlier, Secretary of Defense James V. Forrestal issues a memo that will come to be known as the “Key West Agreement” that defines the role and responsibilities of the services. The memo assigns the primary responsibility for air defense of the United States to the Air Force.
The Smithsonian’s announcement that an F-117A Nighthawk, tail number 85-0818, is headed to the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum, or NASM, is welcome news. The acquisition of this Nighthawk fills a long-standing historical gap—indeed, need—in the collections of what is generally considered the world’s premier air and space…
