{"product_id":"11th-air-force-patch-xlabstest","title":"11th Air Force Patch - xlabstest","description":"\u003cp\u003e11th Air Force Patch - xlabstest - Eleventh Air Force (11 AF) PACAF Numbered Air Force Embroidered Patch, ultramarine blue shield with winged star insignia.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAlaska's air force, forged in the Aleutians, standing watch from Elmendorf to the Arctic.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe Eleventh Air Force carries one of the most distinctive origin stories in American military aviation. Established as the Alaskan Air Force on 28 December 1941, just weeks after Pearl Harbor, it was redesignated 11th Air Force on 5 February 1942 and immediately thrust into combat. When Japan bombed Dutch Harbor and occupied Attu and Kiska in the western Aleutians, the Eleventh answered with a sustained air offensive that became the only World War II campaign fought on North American soil. Crews flew from forward fields on Umnak, Adak, and Amchitka in brutal Arctic conditions, and on 10 July 1943 the unit launched the first land-based bombing mission of the war against the Japanese home islands from Attu. After the Cold War, the command was reactivated on 9 August 1990 as a Numbered Air Force under Pacific Air Forces, with its commander also serving as Commander of Alaskan Command and the Alaskan NORAD Region. The official insignia, approved 13 August 1943, places a bold red numeral 11 above a golden-winged white star on an ultramarine blue shield, a design that ties the patch directly to the unit's wartime identity and Arctic mission.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePerfect for World War II aviation collectors, Aleutian Campaign researchers, Elmendorf Air Force Base veterans, Pacific Air Forces historians, NORAD and Alaskan Command alumni, shadow box builders, military patch board enthusiasts, reunion display tables, and family members honoring a relative who served with the Eleventh in Alaska or the Pacific theater. The patch also suits anyone assembling a numbered Air Force series collection or documenting the full arc of American airpower from the Aleutians to the modern Arctic defense mission.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAleutian grit, Arctic vigilance, and eighty years of Eleventh Air Force heritage in one embroidered shield.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MarinePatches.com","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45542786629741,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/marinepatches.com\/products\/11th-air-force-patch-xlabstest","provider":"MarinePatches.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}