December 31, 1968. The Soviet Union conducts the first flight of
 the Tu-144, the world's first supersonic transport.
     February 9, 1969. Boeing conducts the first flight of the 747.
 The jumbo jet, with standard seating for 347 passengers, introduces
 high passenger volume to the world's airways.
     February 15, 1969. Robert C. Seamans, Jr., becomes Secretary of
 the Air Force.  February 24, 1969. After a North Vietnamese mortar
 shell rocks their Douglas AC-47 gunship, A1C John L. Levitow, stun-
 ned and wounded by shrapnel, flings himself on an activated, smoking
 magnesium flare, drags himself and the flare to the open cargo door,
 and tosses it out of the aircraft just before the flare ignites. For
 saving his fellow crew members and the gunship, Airman Levitow is
 later awarded the Medal of Honor. He is the only enlisted man to win
 the CMH in Vietnam and is one of only four enlisted airmen to ever
 win the award.
     February 27, 1969. The aerobics physical fitness program devel-
 oped by Lt. Col. Kenneth H. Cooper, of Air Force Systems Command's
 Aerospace Medical Laboratory, is adopted by the Air Force to replace
 the 5BX program.
     March 3-13, 1969. Air Force astronauts Col. James A. McDivitt
 and Col. David R. Scott, along with civilian Russell L. Schweickart,
 carry out the first in-space test of the lunar module while in Earth
 orbit during the Apollo 9 mission. The flight also marks the first
 time a crew transfer is made between space vehicles using an internal
 connection.
     May 18-26, 1969. In a dress rehearsal for the moon landing,
 Apollo 10 astronauts Col. Thomas P. Stafford, USAF, and Cmdr. Eugene
 A. Cernan, USN, fly the lunar module Snoopy to within nine miles of
 the lunar surface. Astronaut Cmdr. John W. Young, USN, remains in
 orbit aboard Charlie Brown, the command module.
     June 1, 1969. The Thunderbirds, the Air Force's aerial demon-
 stration squadron, fly their first show in the McDonnell Douglas
 F-4E Phantom II for the graduating seniors at the Air Force
 Academy. The F-4 is the team's sixth show aircraft.
     June 4, 1969. The Air Force Air Demonstration Squadron, the
 Thunderbirds, fly their first show in their new McDonnell Douglas
 F-4E Phantom IIs.
     July 1, 1969. Air Force service numbers are replaced by Social
 Security account numbers for military personnel.
     July 20, 1969. Man sets foot on the moon for the first time. At
 10:56 p.m. EDT, Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong puts his left
 foot on the lunar surface. He and lunar module pilot Col. Edwin
 "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr., USAF, spend just under three hours walking on
 the moon. Command module pilot Lt. Col. Michael Collins, USAF,
 remains in orbit.
     August 1, 1969. Gen. John D. Ryan is appointed Air Force Chief
 of Staff. (3-Fingers Jack of the old 2 Bomb Group. His son is now
 the Air Force Chief of Staff. Jim)
     August 1, 1969. CMSgt. Donald L. Harlow becomes Chief Master
 Sergent of the Air Force.
     October 1969. Air Force Magazine cover story, "The Forgotten
 Americans of the Vietnam War," ignites national concern for the pri-
 soners of war and the missing in action. It is reprinted in condensed
 form as the lead article in the November 1969 issue of Reader's Di-
 gest, is read in its entirety on the floor of Congress, and is in-
 serted into the Congressional Record on six different occasions. This
 article stirs the conscience of the nation and rallies millions to
 the cause of the POWs and MIAs. Air Force Magazine publishes an
 MIA/POW Action Report from June 1970 until September 1974.
     November 3, 1969. The Air Force issues a request for proposal
 for a new bomber to meet its advanced manned strategic aircraft
 requirement. Its designation will be "B-1."
     November 14-24, 1969. Apollo 12 is hit by lightning on liftoff,
 but Cmdrs. Charles Conrad and Alan Bean make the second manned lunar
 landing with pinpoint accuracy. The lunar module Intrepid touches
 down 1,000 yards from the Surveyor 3 probe, on the moon since 1967.
 The all-Navy crew, which also includes Cmdr. Richard F. Gordon, is
 recovered in the Pacific Ocean by USS Hornet (CVS-12).
     December 17, 1969. Air Force Secretary Robert Seamans announces
 the termination of Project Blue Book, the service's program to in-
 vestigate reports of unidentified flying objects.
     March 15, 1970. The overseas portion of the Automatic Voice Net-
 work (AUTOVON) is completed, making it possible to call any US
 military installation in the world without leaving one's desk.
     March 19, 1970. Air Force Maj. Jerauld Gentry makes the first
 successful powered flight of the Martin Marietta X-24A lifting-body
 research aircraft over Edwards AFB, Calif.
     April 11-17, 1970. Thirteen proves an unlucky number for the
 Apollo program. An explosion in the service module cripples the
 spaceship and forces the crew to use the lunar module as a lifeboat
 to get back to Earth. After a tense four days, the Apollo 13 crew
 safely splashes down in the Pacific.
     May 5, 1970. The Air Force Reserve Officers Training Corps admits
 women after test programs at Ohio State, Auburn University, Drake
 University, and East Carolina University prove successful.
     May 15, 1970. Sgt. John L. Levitow is awarded the Medal of Honor
 for heroic action on February 24, 1969, over Long Binh Army Post,
 South Vietnam. He is the first Air Force enlisted recipient of the
 award since World War II.
     June 6, 1970. The first operational Lockheed C-5A Galaxy trans-
 port is delivered to the 437th Military Airlift Wing at Charleston,
 S.C. The debut, made before Rep. L. Mendel Rivers (D-S.C.) and most
 of the House Armed Services Committee, is less than auspicious: The
 giant aircraft loses a wheel, and several other tires are punctured
 on landing.
     August 21, 1970. Defense Secretary Melvin Laird announces the
 "Total Force" policy, leading to much greater reliance by the
 services on Guard and Reserve units.
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