Whereas, 70 years ago, the National Security Act of 1947 ( 50 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.), signed into law by President Harry S. Truman, established the Department of the Air Force as an executive department and established the United States Air Force under the Department of the Air Force; Whereas, at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941, during the attack on Bellows Field, Second Lieutenant George Allison Whiteman reached his aircraft, but while attempting take off, Second Lieutenant Whiteman’s P-40 Warhawk was attacked by enemy fighters and crashed, fatally injuring Second Lieutenant Whiteman; Whereas, in 1942, the site where Whiteman Air Force Base (in this preamble referred to as Whiteman AFB ) currently exists was established as Sedalia Glider Base, and Sedalia Army Air Field was later established at that site to train Waco glider pilots for combat missions during World War II; Whereas, in 1951, that site was reopened as Sedalia Air Force Base and, beginning in 1952, housed the 340th Bombardment Wing, which was assigned the newest aircraft systems of the time, including the B-47 Stratojet, which was the first all-jet bomber, and the KC-97, which is an aerial refueling tanker; Whereas, on December 3, 1955, Sedalia Air Force Base was dedicated as Whiteman AFB, in memory of Sedalia-native Second Lieutenant George Allison Whiteman, one of the first airmen killed in World War II; Whereas Whiteman AFB developed and matured alongside United States Air Force capabilities and necessities, transitioning from a bomber base to the chosen location for the fourth Minuteman intercontinental ballistic missile wing and the home of the 351st Strategic Missile Wing; Whereas Whiteman AFB assisted in paving the way for a fully integrated United States Air Force, with the 351st Strategic Missile Wing fielding the first female Minuteman crew and the first gender-integrated Minuteman crew