NEW CUMBERLAND, Pa. –
On Sept. 18, the DLA Distribution team came together to celebrates the United States Air Force’s 70th birthday.
Honoring the day with the theme of “Breaking Barriers,” DLA Distribution chief of staff Perry Knight provided opening remarks after requesting that Air Force veterans in the audience to stand and be honored with a round of applause.
“Officially established by the National Security Act of 1947, the U.S. Air Force has become the largest air power in the world thanks to the men and women who have sought to move beyond the limitations placed on them by society, politics and even science,” said Knight.
He then mentioned several history-making airmen and women that proved themselves limitless. Notable persons mentioned by Knight included: Captain Chuck Yeager, who broke the sound barrier in 1947; Staff Sgt. Esther McGowin Blake, the first woman to enlist in the Air Force; Gen. Benjamin Oliver Davis, Jr., the first African American Air Force general officer; Maj. Gary Payton the first of only two persons to travel into space as U.S. Air Force, not NASA, astronauts; and Master Sgt. Israel Del Toro, the first airman with a 100 percent disability rating to be allowed to re-enlist.
Following his remarks, Knight invited all former and current airmen and women in the audience onto the stage to cut a birthday cake alongside DLA Distribution commander Army Brig. Gen. John S. Laskodi.