The United States Air Force Memorial
The US Air Force Memorial was built to honor the brave men and women who served the United States Airforce and its predecessors. including the Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps; the Aviation Section, the Division of Military Aeronautics, Secretary of War; the Army Air Service; the Army Air Corps; and the U.S. Army Air Forces.
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The US Air Force Memorial
The US Air Force Memorial is located in Arlington County, VA, near the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery. It was built to honor the Air Force and its heritage organizations.
The monument is towering above its surroundings with three memorial spires. The heights of these spires range from 210 meters to 270 meters. The image of “contrails of the Air Force Thunderbirds as they peel back in a precision ‘bomb burst’ maneuver” is the primary inspiration of the design of the monument. Only three contrails represented by the spires were constructed, as opposed to the traditional four-Thunderbird formation, to signify the ‘missing man formation’ used for airmen’s funeral fly-overs.
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Useful Memorial Links
Interesting Facts on the USAF Memorial
- There is a name that was removed from the wall where the names of the Air Force recipients of the Medal of Honor are inscribed. This is the name of Colonel William “Billy” Mitchell. His name was removed because of some debate on whether he received the Medal of Honor or the Congressional Gold Medal. The removal of his name I still visible as the gap where his name was once inscribed is quite noticeable.
- The spires are made of stainless steel plates and are filled with high-strength concrete at the bottom two-thirds, while the upper third remains hollow.
- During the summer the United States Air Force Band holds concerts at the USAF Memorial every Friday night.