2012 Air & Space Conference: Heritage Spotlights

Photo courtesy of the Air Force Association's Library

In the pre-dawn hours of June 25^th, 1950, six columns of North Korean forces stormed across the 38^th parallel into South Korea. Ninety thousand communist troops augmented by armored columns and close air support rapidly overwhelmed South Korean soldiers. The newly-created US Air Force swung into action, and by June 27^th, an F-82 crew claimed the first aerial victory of the war.

At our 2012 Air & Space Conference, members of the aircrews from the 1950s’ Korean War will lead a panel, describing their experiences flying the flying F-80s, F-51s, B-29s and B-26s in Korea, amidst the brutal cold of winter and the oppressive heat of summer.

But the Korean War Aircrews are just one of several heritage spotlights on the agenda. Other heritage highlights include:

• Panel comprised of Fighter Pilots of World War II
• Panel comprised of Aircrews of the Berlin Airlift
• Book signing by Clarence “Bud” Anderson, To Fly and Fight: Memoirs of a Triple Ace
• Book signing by Gail Halvorsen, The Berlin Candy Bomber

The full conference agenda can be found here.

The 2012 Air & Space Conference will be held September 17-19, 2012, at the Gaylord National Resort and Convention Center, just across the river from Alexandria and minutes from downtown Washington, DC. This year’s conference will host more than 60 conference addresses and 50,000 square feet of the latest and greatest technology from industry in the Exhibit Hall. Advance registration is available here.

[Note: All Active Duty military members and DOD civilian personnel can attend the conference free of charge!]