190619-F-QS178-1022
Airmen across the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing gathered in observance of Juneteenth on June 19, 2019, Al Dhafra Air Base, United Arab Emirates. Though the Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863, it wasn’t until Maj. Gen. Gordon Granger, along with Union soldiers, entered Galveston on June 19, 1865, that slaves in Texas were told they were free. In 1980, legislation in Texas declared Juneteenth a state holiday known as Emancipation Day in Texas. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jocelyn A. Ford)