Those wishing to become citizens must meet a stringent criteria established by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and more importantly show that they are committed to the values and principles that are unique to Americans.

The first American combat troops, 3,500 Marines from the 9th Marine Expeditionary Brigade based in Okinawa, Japan, arrived in South Vietnam in March 1965 to protect a U.S. air base in Da Nang. It was a start of a long and costly fight that saw more than 58,000 U.S. servicemembers killed and another 150,000 wounded over the next 10 years.

An A-6 Intruder from Attack Squadron 115 (VA-115) was returning to the USS Midway from a night low-level bombing mission over North Vietnam in late October 1972. The approach was normal with standard corrections made for being slightly high on the glide slope.

In addition to reputations for aircraft performance, aviation design firms had penchants for either innovation or adhering to convention. Grumman Aircraft was known for its workman-like designs which grew more sophisticated, but at a conservative pace. There was an undeniable steppingstone progression in their fighter designs from the biplane FF-1 of 1931 up to their last piston fighter, the F8F Bearcat of 1943.

For sailors who have never served on an aircraft carrier or a large-deck amphibious ship, they might be surprised to learn that these Navy flattops have Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) agents on board. NCIS is the Navy’s civilian law enforcement agency responsible for investigating crime, preventing terrorism and protecting sensitive Navy and Marine Corps information. Their agents deploy with carrier and amphibious strike groups when they head overseas.

More than a half million student cadets are currently enrolled in the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (JROTC) programs in high schools throughout the country. These future military leaders tackle a variety of classes ranging from military science and leadership to critical thinking and life skills.