1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:00,000 2 00:00:18,479 --> 00:00:20,368 At the dawn of the 20th century , 3 00:00:20,368 --> 00:00:22,479 mankind broke free of Earth's gravity 4 00:00:22,479 --> 00:00:24,701 with the successful launch of the first 5 00:00:24,701 --> 00:00:26,757 airplane , the Wright Flyer in Kitty 6 00:00:26,757 --> 00:00:28,757 Hawk , North Carolina . It would be 7 00:00:28,757 --> 00:00:30,701 only a few short years before this 8 00:00:30,701 --> 00:00:32,923 revolutionary technology would find its 9 00:00:32,923 --> 00:00:35,035 way to the battlefront , as the world 10 00:00:35,035 --> 00:00:37,201 entered a new era of global conflict . 11 00:00:39,279 --> 00:00:41,446 Air power went from novel to essential 12 00:00:41,446 --> 00:00:43,520 over the course of World War One as 13 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:45,687 early airmen proved their worth in the 14 00:00:45,687 --> 00:00:47,909 field , carrying out reconnaissance and 15 00:00:47,909 --> 00:00:49,853 attack missions and dogfights that 16 00:00:49,853 --> 00:00:52,187 still captured the public's imagination . 17 00:00:52,187 --> 00:00:54,076 Aviation technology would rapidly 18 00:00:54,076 --> 00:00:56,187 evolve in the wake of World War One . 19 00:00:56,187 --> 00:00:58,242 By the 1930s , it was clear that air 20 00:00:58,242 --> 00:01:00,298 power was no longer an experiment on 21 00:01:00,298 --> 00:01:02,298 the battlefield . It was the key to 22 00:01:02,298 --> 00:01:04,020 victory . The Second World War 23 00:01:04,020 --> 00:01:06,242 demonstrated that air superiority could 24 00:01:06,242 --> 00:01:08,298 enable victories on the ground while 25 00:01:08,298 --> 00:01:10,464 strategic bombing campaigns turned the 26 00:01:10,464 --> 00:01:12,687 tide of the war . But the high altitude 27 00:01:12,687 --> 00:01:14,798 front yielded new dangers , including 28 00:01:14,798 --> 00:01:17,319 altitude sickness , hypoxia , frostbite , 29 00:01:17,449 --> 00:01:20,169 flak wounds , and bailout injuries . If 30 00:01:20,169 --> 00:01:22,391 the Allied forces were to prevail , the 31 00:01:22,391 --> 00:01:24,558 Army Air Forces would need to innovate 32 00:01:24,558 --> 00:01:26,613 fast or risk ceding the skies to the 33 00:01:26,613 --> 00:01:28,330 Axis powers . It would take 34 00:01:28,330 --> 00:01:30,386 extraordinary leadership to turn the 35 00:01:30,386 --> 00:01:33,089 tide . One such leader was an Army Air 36 00:01:33,089 --> 00:01:35,419 Forces surgeon named Colonel Malcolm 37 00:01:35,419 --> 00:01:38,000 Grove . By the time Japan attacked 38 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,559 Pearl Harbor , Malcolm Gro had already 39 00:01:40,559 --> 00:01:42,670 become a standard bearer in the field 40 00:01:42,670 --> 00:01:44,892 of aviation medicine . A veteran combat 41 00:01:44,892 --> 00:01:46,892 surgeon , he had served in both the 42 00:01:46,892 --> 00:01:49,059 Russian and US armies during World War 43 00:01:49,059 --> 00:01:50,837 One before turning his focus to 44 00:01:50,837 --> 00:01:53,839 aviation medicine in 1928 . Gross 45 00:01:53,839 --> 00:01:55,950 served as chief flight surgeon of the 46 00:01:55,950 --> 00:01:58,589 Army Air Corps from 1934 to 1939 , 47 00:01:59,199 --> 00:02:01,310 where he would dedicate his tenure to 48 00:02:01,310 --> 00:02:03,366 aeromedical innovation , co-founding 49 00:02:03,366 --> 00:02:05,532 the Aeromedical Research Laboratory at 50 00:02:05,532 --> 00:02:08,789 Wright Patterson . In 1942 , Gro was 51 00:02:08,789 --> 00:02:10,845 appointed as surgeon for the 8th Air 52 00:02:10,845 --> 00:02:13,067 Force . The men of the Eighth Air Force 53 00:02:13,067 --> 00:02:14,900 Bomber Command faced some of the 54 00:02:14,900 --> 00:02:17,229 grimmest odds of the war , tasked to 55 00:02:17,229 --> 00:02:19,340 complete 25 bomb missions before they 56 00:02:19,340 --> 00:02:22,350 could return home . A mere 25% of the 57 00:02:22,350 --> 00:02:24,072 crews completed their missions 58 00:02:24,072 --> 00:02:26,128 unscathed and uncaptured in the year 59 00:02:26,128 --> 00:02:29,100 1943 . The greatest risk came from 60 00:02:29,100 --> 00:02:31,100 small low velocity projectiles from 61 00:02:31,100 --> 00:02:33,020 shrapnel or flak that could tear 62 00:02:33,020 --> 00:02:34,964 through bombers and bodies alike , 63 00:02:34,964 --> 00:02:37,740 causing 70% of their wounds . Gro 64 00:02:37,740 --> 00:02:39,518 needed to find a way to protect 65 00:02:39,518 --> 00:02:41,629 airmen's bodies without overburdening 66 00:02:41,629 --> 00:02:44,160 their planes . Taking inspiration from 67 00:02:44,160 --> 00:02:46,104 medieval armor , Gro developed the 68 00:02:46,104 --> 00:02:48,419 first flak vests and jackets , body 69 00:02:48,419 --> 00:02:50,475 armor light enough to wear in combat 70 00:02:50,475 --> 00:02:52,530 but strong enough to stop shrapnel . 71 00:02:52,729 --> 00:02:55,460 Early tests of the Grovest in 1943 were 72 00:02:55,460 --> 00:02:57,460 a resounding success , leading to a 73 00:02:57,460 --> 00:02:59,809 major procurement order . At the start 74 00:02:59,809 --> 00:03:02,809 of 1944 , the 8th and 9th Air Forces 75 00:03:02,809 --> 00:03:05,649 had procured 13,500 vests . 76 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:08,361 Once they were deployed in the 77 00:03:08,361 --> 00:03:10,417 battlefield , wound rates dropped by 78 00:03:10,417 --> 00:03:13,880 60% . And Gro was just getting 79 00:03:13,880 --> 00:03:16,360 started . His team pioneered heated 80 00:03:16,360 --> 00:03:18,360 flight suits to prevent frostbite , 81 00:03:18,710 --> 00:03:20,654 wind resistant face masks for high 82 00:03:20,654 --> 00:03:22,880 altitude missions , and the first steel 83 00:03:22,880 --> 00:03:25,320 aircrew helmet . They even designed 84 00:03:25,320 --> 00:03:27,479 special combat rations because long 85 00:03:27,479 --> 00:03:29,312 haul bombing missions left crews 86 00:03:29,312 --> 00:03:33,059 dangerously underfed . In war , every 87 00:03:33,059 --> 00:03:34,726 problem demanded a solution . 88 00:03:36,940 --> 00:03:39,051 American airmen played a crucial role 89 00:03:39,051 --> 00:03:41,107 in turning the tide of the war . Air 90 00:03:41,107 --> 00:03:43,218 power allowed the Allies to strike at 91 00:03:43,218 --> 00:03:44,940 the heart of enemy territory , 92 00:03:44,940 --> 00:03:46,773 crippling their supply lines and 93 00:03:46,773 --> 00:03:49,460 breaking down their resistance . On May 94 00:03:49,460 --> 00:03:52,899 8th , 1945 , Nazi Germany would 95 00:03:52,899 --> 00:03:55,630 surrender , followed by Japan on August 96 00:03:55,630 --> 00:03:57,729 14th , 1945 . 97 00:04:01,779 --> 00:04:04,929 This victory had a high price . As 98 00:04:04,929 --> 00:04:07,830 nearly 68,000 American airmen never 99 00:04:07,830 --> 00:04:10,539 returned home . A number that would 100 00:04:10,539 --> 00:04:12,650 have been much higher had it not been 101 00:04:12,650 --> 00:04:14,872 for the efforts of patriotic innovators 102 00:04:14,872 --> 00:04:16,817 like Gro and his team . Their work 103 00:04:16,817 --> 00:04:18,929 saved untold numbers of Allied airmen 104 00:04:18,929 --> 00:04:20,873 and laid the foundation for modern 105 00:04:20,873 --> 00:04:24,390 aerospace medicine . In 1947 , the 106 00:04:24,390 --> 00:04:26,501 Department of the US Air Force became 107 00:04:26,501 --> 00:04:28,446 an independent branch of the Armed 108 00:04:28,446 --> 00:04:30,670 Services . Two years later , the now 109 00:04:30,670 --> 00:04:32,614 Major General Malcolm Gro would be 110 00:04:32,614 --> 00:04:34,781 appointed as the first Surgeon General 111 00:04:34,781 --> 00:04:36,726 of the brand new Air Force Medical 112 00:04:36,726 --> 00:04:39,649 Service . Today , the Air Force Medical 113 00:04:39,649 --> 00:04:41,649 Service still follows the path grow 114 00:04:41,649 --> 00:04:44,470 forged all those years ago . From 115 00:04:44,470 --> 00:04:46,692 battlefield surgery to space medicine , 116 00:04:46,750 --> 00:04:48,750 his spirit of innovation lives on . 117 00:04:50,220 --> 00:04:52,387 Because the mission remains the same . 118 00:04:52,779 --> 00:04:55,709 Keep airmen and guardians ready anytime , 119 00:04:56,380 --> 00:04:56,739 anywhere .