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One of the Sounds of Freedom

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F-16- Nicholas A Price.Copyright C 2005-2006  All rights reservedThere’s nothing quite like the sound of a fighter aircraft, overhead.

It can be thrilling — at an airshow, for example.

It can also be reassuring — the way it was, for many, in the early morning hours over the Washington, D.C. area for months after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

The Library of Congress has acquired a series of 60 spectacular photographs taken by master photographer Nicholas A. Price on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the United States Air Force.  This collection of large-format black-and-white prints, from a National Museum of the U.S. Air Force exhibition titled “Cleared Hot! An Exclusive and Personal Photographic Journey into the U. S. Air Force” will be available to researchers in the Library’s Prints and Photographs Division.

The phrase “cleared hot” is an Air Force go-ahead to engage a target, or complete an action or mission.

Price took more than 8,000 photographs between 2005 and 2007 at two Air Force bases in Nevada — Creech in Indian Springs and Nellis in North Las Vegas.  He said he wanted to show the human face of the modern Air Force, particularly its diversity and its “unsung heroes, the men and women who do what no one hears about” such as securing the base, providing ground-combat forces, bringing new technologies to bear or caring for military folk and their equipment.

“The 60 photographs create a valuable visual story for understanding the hard work and deep commitment of today’s military,” said Helena Zinkham, acting chief of the Library’s Prints and Photographs Division. “This compelling photographic essay, created to honor the men and women of the Air Force, enriches the Library’s collections by providing a contemporary counterpart to our historic resources.”

Comments (5)

  1. thanks to all air force

  2. Why don’t you skip all the fluff and bull and just give us an exact link to the photos, and spare us all your verbiage.

    Where the heck are the photos?

  3. My son, Maj. Todd C. Nadrich , III trained at these bases and served his country well. God Bless You.
    Todd C. Nadrich

  4. Play nice, Joel.

    We posted the photo we were allowed to post because the photos are under copyright restrictions. Given that the Library is home to the U.S. Copyright Office, we’re particularly sensitive to that.

    All the photos can be seen in person in the Library’s Prints and Photographs Division.

  5. You mean we have to be there in person to see these photos? What kind of access is that? Isn’t this the digital age?

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