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Joint Base Andrews News

NEWS | Sept. 17, 2018

JBA Airmen, AFRH retirees celebrate Air Force birthday

By Senior Airman Abby L. Richardson 11th Wing Public Affairs

Joint Base Andrews Airmen joined retirees to celebrate the Air Force’s 71st birthday at the Armed Forces Retirement Home in Washington, D.C., Sept. 14.

Over 40 people attended the event to celebrate Airmen past and present.

“These events are important for those who have served,” said Jack E. Beck, AFRH resident and Air Force retiree. “It brings up memories and makes us feel proud.”

The celebration included a speech from Chief Master Sgt. Thomas C. Daniels, 11th Wing and JBA command chief.

“If you served in the Armed Forces of this country, those of us on active duty stand on your shoulders,” Daniels said. “And we promise to lift the next generation upon ours so that we continue the legacy of service.”

After Daniels’ speech, the oldest AFRH former Airman and the youngest JBA Airman present were recognized.

George Setzer, the oldest former Airman present at 98 years old, enlisted in 1942 and retired as a technical sergeant after 21 years of service.

Airman 1st Class Skylar Armstrong, the youngest Airman present, is a 1st Airlift Squadron flight attendant at JBA.

“It’s important to get young Airmen to these events, because it reinvigorates you and gives you a sense of pride,” Armstrong said. “It reminded me why I put my uniform on every morning.”

The ceremony ended with Daniels, Setzer and Armstrong cutting the birthday cake together.

The youngest branch of the U.S. military, the Air Force traces its roots back over 100 years, to the creation of the U.S. Army Signal Corps Aeronautical Division in 1907. With advances in technology and aerial warfare, the division grew and changed, first into the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1926, then into the Army Air Forces in 1941. In 1947, the U.S. Air Force was established as its own military branch.