Florida Veteran Health Heroes

3 2021 Florida Veteran Health Heroes INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE UNITED STATES ARMED SERVICES ARMY Founded by the Second Continental Congress in 1775, the U.S. Army is the oldest and largest U.S. military service branch. Initially formed to protect the independence of the first 13 colonies under the leadership of then Congressional delegate George Washington, the U.S. Army has evolved and grown from a small militia into the world’s premier fighting force. Twenty-four former United States Presidents have served in the Army or state militias (the modern-day National Guard), including Andrew Jackson, William Henry Harrison, Zachary Taylor, Franklin Pierce, and Dwight D. Eisenhower. Theodore Roosevelt received the Medal of Honor for his famous charge up San Juan Hill and was an Army Colonel. NAVY As the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces, the mission of the Navy is to maintain, train, and equip combat-ready naval forces capable of winning wars, deterring aggression, and maintaining freedom of the seas. From an original fleet of six frigates, the various U.S. Navy commands now patrol the globe protecting the American homeland and keeping the arteries of commerce open across the world’s oceans. Presidents John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, Richard Nixon, and Jimmy Carter all served in the Navy or Naval Reserves. During World War II, George H. W. Bush, a Naval airman, received the Distinguished Flying Cross after his plane was shot down during an attack on a Japanese installation on the island of Chichi Jima. Anchors away! AIR FORCE For over a century, the U.S. Air Force has defended this country in the air, space, and cyberspace. Initially formed as a part of the U.S. Army in 1907, the U.S. Air Force was established as a separate branch of the U.S. Armed Forces on September 18, 1947. With strategic commands across the globe, the U.S. Air Force pursues a mission of global vigilance, global reach, and global power. In 1947, then-Air Force Capt. Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier in his Bell X-1 rocket-powered aircraft, opening the door for decades of aviation innovation and exploration, eventually leading to outer space and the landing of a man on the moon.