Amy Kemp Butler

TUSKEGEE, ALABAMA -- If you drive through Tuskegee today, you will find a town in need of tender loving care. Most of the houses are in need of repair and many locations where shops once operated are long deserted. Among the dilapidated structures, you will find a few once-elaborate mansions indicating money once resided in the area. Due to racial issues years ago, white business owners were forced to close their doors and moved out of town.

In 1925, as more people were becoming interested in controlled powered flight, the United States was one of the nations without formal policies regarding civilian aviation. While new airlines were being introduced, Henry Ford saw significant potential in commercial transportation and focused on that aspect of aviation. As he was forming an air transportation company, Ford took over the Stout Aircraft Co. Its engineers were designing an improved aircraft, one with an all-metal design that promised to be more reliable than those of wood, canvas, wire and glue.

On April 21, 1953, Operation Little Switch began as a merciful means to release sick and wounded prisoners of the Korean War, which continued until May 3, 1953. Operation Little Switch named the agreement drawn up during truce talks on April 11, 1953, which provided the terms and conditions for the mutual exchange of prisoners. The agreement was made between the Commander in Chief of the United Nations forces, Gen. Mark W. Clark, and Premier Kim Sung of North Korea with Gen. Peng Dehuai of China. During the operation, North Korea repatriated 684 sick and wounded U.N.

Women have been a valuable asset to the military from World War II onward. Many have put their lives on the line and dedicated themselves to protect this country and help others. Many of these women have been and continue to be employed here at Hill Air Force Base. One of these courageous women is Judy Ricks.

Ricks was a welder in a refinery in the early 1970s and was looking forward to working in a shipyard before enlisting in the United States Air Force in 1979 when she was stationed at Castle Air Force Base, Calif.

At the beginning of World War I airplanes were still in their infancy, but by the time the war was over they had become more durable and reliable, and more forgiving of error and inexperience. By then they could carry heavier loads and travel greater distances at higher speeds than at any time before. This led to a greater number of pilots and ground crews and helped some of them set new speed and distance records. Such people, both servicemen and civilians, began to be treated as champions rather than "birdbrains."

In 1919, Capt. E.F.

As the year comes to an end, we mark 100 years of flight in the U.S. military.

In 1909, the Army purchased the nation's first airplane from the Wright brothers. This came about after years of negotiations and despite doubts whether the machine might serve any military purpose at all. Negotiations started Jan. 18, 1905, when the Wright brothers formally offered their invention to the Army stating that an airplane was a must in the military. Having had bad experience with such offers, the Army was unconvinced then.

The C-119 Flying Boxcar was a significant asset to the U.S. Air Force operations around the world beginning in the early 1950s. The planes, manufactured by Fairchild Aircraft, totaled 1,183 built, two of which are still airworthy in Alaska.

The C-119 was initially a redesign of the C-82 Packet built between 1945 and 1948. The C-82 had performance limitations which were corrected in the C-119. More powerful engines were added, the cockpit was moved to enable the aircraft to carry more cargo, the fuselage was widened and the airframe was strengthened.