WASHINGTON, June 25, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:
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SATURDAY, JUNE 25: LEGENDARY AIR FORCE OFFICER
Profile America -- Saturday, June 25th. One of the key figures in the development of American air power was born 125 years ago today -- general of the air force Henry Arnold, better known by his nickname "Hap." Unable to enter the cavalry, he was taught to fly by the Wright Brothers as one of the army's first pilots, and retired as the air force's only five-star general. As chief of the air corps before World War II, he persuaded the nation to beef up its production of planes, from 6,000 in 1940 to more than a quarter million in 1944. That year, he commanded an air force of more than 2 million men and women in all theaters of the war. Today, the air force is made up of 65,000 officers and 258,000 enlisted personnel. You can find these and more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at www.census.gov.
Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2011, p. 336
Statistical Abstract of the United States 2011, t. 508
Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).
SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau
