Marine Capt. John L. Smith, flying a Grumman F4F-4 Wildcat, shoots down four Japanese aircraft over Guadalcanal. From Aug. 21 through the middle of October, Smith shoots down 19 Japanese aircraft. For this feat and his leadership in which his squadron shot down 126.5 aircraft, he appears on the cover of Life Magazine and is awarded the Medal of Honor.
While the Space Force is still making long-term plans to establish high-fidelity live and virtual test and training ranges in the coming years, officials say they're also working with operators to identify near-term gaps and quickly field capabilities to address them.
