United States Air Force
The U.S. War Department created the first antecedent of the U.S. Air Force, as a part of the U.S. Army, on 1 August 1907, which through a succession of changes of organization, titles, and missions advanced toward eventual independence 40 years later. In World War II, almost 68,000 U.S. airmen died helping to win the war, with only the infantry suffering more casualties. In practice, the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) was virtually independent of the Army during World War II, and in virtually all ways functioned as an independent service branch, but airmen still pressed for formal independence. The National Security Act of 1947 was signed on 26 July 1947 by President Harry S Truman, which established the Department of the Air Force, but it was not until 18 September 1947, when the first secretary of the Air Force, W. Stuart Symington, was sworn into office that the Air Force was officially formed as an independent service branch.
Kenneth P. Bergquist (United States Air Force)
In June 1942, Bergquist traveled to  New Caledonia to oversee air defense for the United States Armed Forces on that island. Following the creation of the United States Army Air Forces in June 1942, Bergquist was assigned to the General Headquarters Air Force in Washington, D. C. in July 1942. There, he served in the operations section. 
In 1944, he was posted to the 73d Air Division in the Pacific Theater, seeing duty during the Battle of Saipan. He then served as operations officer of the VII Fighter Command during the Battle of Iwo Jima.