April 4 in U.S. Military History

Today in U.S. military history:

1933: The Navy’s massive helium-filled airship USS Akron, America’s first flying aircraft carrier, crashes in a storm off the coast of New Jersey, killing 73 of the crew.

1949: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is formed when the United States and 11 European nations sign a mutual defense pact to counter Soviet aggression in Western Europe.

1973: A C-141 Starlifter transport plane – the “Hanoi Taxi” – departs Vietnam on the final flight carrying American prisoners of war released by North Vietnam. 591 Americans were carried to freedom on Operation HOMECOMING flights.