“Conflicts, no doubt, will be carried on in the future in the air, on the surface of the earth and water, and under the earth and water,” a young captain wrote while stationed in Leavenworth, Kansas. The year was 1906, a mere three years after the Wright brothers’ first successful flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Still, the captain’s belief in the future of military aviation was resolute.
Capt. William “Billy” Mitchell wrote down his ideas in a paper that day, but soon enough, his growing vision would prompt him to act. Today, thanks to his efforts, he’s called the “Father of the United States Air Force.”…