George Stanley McGovern is a former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator,
and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election.

He volunteered for the U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II and as a
B-24 Liberator pilot flew 35 missions over German-occupied Europe. He
was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for making a hazardous
emergency landing of his damaged plane and saving his crew.

After the war, McGovern obtained degrees from Dakota Wesleyan University 
and Northwestern University, earning a Ph.D, becoming a history professor. 
 

Lieutenant McGovern in front of his B-24, the Dakota Queen.

President John F. Kennedy and George McGovern in 1961

Solar Challenger was a solar-powered electric aircraft designed by Paul
MacCready‘s AeroVironment. It was powered entirely by the photovoltaic
cells on its wing and stabilizer, without even reserve batteries, and was
the first such craft capable of long-distance flight. In 1981, it successfully
completed a 163 mile demonstration flight from France to England, staying
aloft 5 hours and 23 minutes, with pilot Stephen Ptacek behind the stick. 

Aerospace genius Dr. Paul MacCready

The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was a forerunner of the United
States Air Force. Renamed by Congress from the Air Service, it was part of
the U.S. Army and the predecessor of the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF),
established in 1941. Although abolished as an organization in 1942,
the Air Corps (AC) remained as a branch of the Army until 1947.