South Dakota Air National Guard - History

History

On 24 May 1946, the United States Army Air Forces, in response to dramatic postwar military budget cuts imposed by President Harry S. Truman, allocated inactive unit designations to the National Guard Bureau for the formation of an Air Force National Guard. These unit designations were allotted and transferred to various State National Guard bureaus to provide them unit designations to re-establish them as Air National Guard units.

The South Dakota Air National Guard was founded by Medal of Honor recipient and former Governor Joseph J. Foss on 20 September 1946 at Sioux Falls, South Dakota with federal recognition of the 175th Fighter Squadron. The 175th Fighter Squadron was assigned to the 132d Fighter Wing, Des Moines, Iowa. The unit was equipped with the F-51D Mustang, and several types of support aircraft. 18 September 1947, however, is considered the South Dakota Air National Guard's official birth concurrent with the establishment of the United States Air Force as a separate branch of the United States military under the National Security Act.

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