The U.S. Air Force celebrates its 77th birthday on Sept. 18, 2024. The celebration is of special importance to the Kaiserslautern Military Community which houses one of the busiest Air Force bases outside of the continental United States: Ramstein Air Base, Germany. (U.S. Air Force graphic by Senior Airman Christian Conrad)

Air Force celebrates 77th birthday with overhauls, modernizations

The U.S. military community is celebrating the day the U.S. Air Force became an independent branch of the military. The USAF has been the world’s most powerful air force for its entire history — and it has plans to stay that way.

Major General Ray Shields, the adjutant general of New York, presents the New York State Conspicuous Service Cross, to the niece and grand-niece of Pvt. John Greschiak, a World War II Soldier who was killed in action on Sept. 16, 1944, during a ceremony at which he was posthumously at New York National Guard headquarters in Latham, New York on Sept. 16, 2024. They, at left, Donna Cramer of Albany, and Cheri Gagliardi, a Rotterdam resident. (U.S. Army National Guard Photo by Stephanie Butler)

Family of WWII Purple Heart recipient receives New York service medal, 80 years after soldier’s death

The family of a WWII soldier who was killed in action in September 1944 during a fight in Germany received the New York State Conspicuous Service Cross at New York National Guard headquarters on Monday, 80 years after his death.

Crown Princess Michiko in Tokyo, 1964

Tokyo, Japan, Apr. 18, 1964: Crown Princess Michiko addresses a corps of collegiate interpreters who volunteered for the 1964 Paralympic Games in Tokyo at the Japan Red Cross Auditorium.

John Steinbeck answers questions in South Vietnam, 1966

An Khe, South Vietnam, December 1966: Author John Steinbeck, 1962 Nobel Prize in Literature recipient, sits on a little green trunk as he answers questions from the men of the 1st Air Cavalry Division at An Khe, South Vietnam.

Veterans Day 2014 at the Korean War Memorial in Washington, D.C.

Defense agency accounts for 700th missing service member from Korean War

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency announced last week that it has identified the 700th service member listed as missing from the Korean War. More than 7,400 remain missing.

Framed family photos, Military Awards and tributes rest on a remembrance table for U.S. Army Private Billy E. Calkins at the Fir Lawn Memorial Cemetery, Hillsboro, Oregon on Sept. 13, 2024. Calkins remains were return to Oregon 82 years after his death in the Philippines where he served with the 31st Infantry Regiment, Company B, and died at the Cabanatuan Prison Camp on Nov. 1, 1942 when he as 17 years old. (National Guard photo by John Hughel, Oregon Military Department Public Affairs)

WWII POW who died in Philippines in 1942 laid to rest in Oregon

The remains of U.S. Army Pvt. William E. Calkins were laid to rest Saturday in Hillsboro, Ore., nearly 82 years after he died in a POW camp in the Philippines.

Sunrise silhouettes guard tower at Guantanamo Bay, 2016

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba on April 19, 2016: The rising sun silhouettes an out-of-use guard tower, fence and concertina wire at Camp Delta at Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

Translator and boy ride bike in Afghanistan, 2011

Marjah, Afghanistan, Jan. 23, 2011: An Afghan translator working for the Marines takes a local boy for a bike ride on the boy’s bike on Marjah’s main drag. The road had just been paved, a first in the town.

The centerpiece of the National World War I Memorial in Washington, “A Soldier’s Journey,” is unveiled on Friday. MUST CREDIT: Allison Robbert for The Washington Post

The decade-long mission to build the World War I memorial

Retired Col. Jennifer N. Pritzker, a billionaire who donated to the project, said our maps, borders, civil rights, weapons, technology and even fashion owe some credit to World War I, even though few people alive today have a direct connection to the conflict.