PASCO COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — A veteran in the Tampa Bay area is celebrating her honorable discharge from the military, and more than seven decades later, she reflects on when the Air Force became its own branch.
Fern Kinion was honorably discharged from the United States Air Force 75 years ago on Monday. She was one of the first women to ever be in the Air Force.
Born on a farm in Kansas, she said she knew she always wanted to do something different.
“I was working as a secretary for a while, then I read in the newspaper that the Air Force was becoming a separate service,” Kinion said.
With a pretty big travel bug and the longing for independence, she walked across the street from her office to the post office, in 1948, and signed up to break the mold.
“Signed up to go in the Air Force, passed the physical, and found myself soon after on the train to San Antonio,” she said.
The 96-year-old vet went through basic training, then, officer candidate school. Six months later, she became a Second Lieutenant where she traveled to places like West Virginia and Baltimore for recruiting.