In 1947, in recognition of its impact on the recent victory, the Army Air Forces were declared a separate service, coequal with the Army and the Navy. This was a significant move. As long as they were a unit within the Army, the air forces would support the Army’s policies and missions, mainly by providing air support to troops on the battlefield. Even LeMay’s bombing raids were initially intended to degrade Japan’s military machine and thus pave the way for the Army’s impending invasion of the mainland. But as a separate service, the U.S. Air Force, as it was now called, could set its own
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