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But the Air Force was sort of a bastard child of the Army, much like the Marines with the Navy. Everything had to be done over by the Army after it had already been done by the Air Corps, a mess.

I went into the Air Corps from 1943 through 1945.

The thing about the Air Force or any branch of the military is that all of us were plucked away from our homes and our comfort zones and our families. So there was a solidarity in the military, a brotherhood.

Afghanistan does have an air force: It has two C-130s. I saw one of them. It was nice, a gift from the United States. But two planes don't even make a Caribbean charter airline, let alone an air force for a country at war.

It was 1943. The U.S. had already entered World War II, so I decided to join the army.

But it wasn't until I graduated from Texas A & M University and joined the United States Air Force, flying C-130's all around the globe, that I truly appreciated the blessings of freedom.

Upon graduation from high school, following my brother by a couple of years, I joined the U.S. Air Force.

I stayed in the Navy until July of 1946.

Father served in the Air Force for 22 years.