U.S. Air Force

The U.S. Air Force and the National Aeronautic Association are honoring two Air Force crews with the prestigious Mackay Trophy for supporting Operation Freedom’s Sentinel, evacuating 2,000 Americans from the U.S. Embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, in August 2021.

The U.S. Air Force was born on Sept. 18, 1947, when the first Secretary of the Air Force, Stuart Symington, was sworn into office following the signing of the National Defense Act. A year-long commemoration wraps up this weekend with a host of events at and around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton.

It's one of the most well-known World War II aircraft -- an icon really -- and beginning this week, visitors can see her up close and personal. The B-17F…