The Air Force: preparation for whatever your future holds

Sept. 18 is the birthday of the Air Force. Now the second youngest of the service branches, the Air Force was officially founded as an independent service in 1947, although the U.S. military deployed aerial components as far back as World War I. Here are some celebrities you might not know served there.

Art Bell: the radio broadcaster served four years in the 1960s, as a noncombat medic during the Vietnam War.

Joe DiMaggio: the baseball legend interrupted his Major League career to serve in World War II from 1943 to 1945, as a PE instructor and celebrity baseballer; he requested a combat assignment but was turned down.

Morgan Freeman: the actor served from 1955 to 1959, as an automatic tracking radar repairman.

Chuck Norris: the actor served from 1958 to 1962, including as an air policeman at Osan Air Base in South Korea, where he learned the martial arts skills that would play such a large role in his future career.

Gene Roddenberry: The “Star Trek” creator, serving in what was then the Army Air Corps, flew a B-17 in more than 80 combat missions during World War II and was part of the Battle of Guadalcanal.

Caroll Spinney: the puppeteer who brought Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch to life served in the 1950s, during which he wrote and illustrated a comic strip about military life, and performed puppet shows on TV while stationed in Las Vegas.

Hunter S. Thompson: the author and journalist served from 1956 to 1958, working as a sports editor for the Eglin Air Force Base newspaper. Task & Purpose published the fake press release he sent out on base letterhead when he was discharged.