An F-117 stealth fighter was shot down in combat. Enemy ground fire brought down the Nighthawk over Yugoslavia. Capt. John A. Cherrey, an A-10 pilot, earned the Silver Star for locating the downed pilot, who was rescued by helicopter the same day.
Happy Birthday US Air Force: 78 Today
Sept. 18, 2025
Seventy-eight years ago today, on Sept. 18, 1947, Supreme Court Chief Justice Fred Vinson swore in Stuart Symington as the first ever Secretary of the Air Force, and the Air Force officially became the first new military service since the Revolutionary War.