Edwards Air Force Base, home of the Air Force Flight Test Center, provides premier aerospace research, development, test and evaluation, and support for the United States and its allies. More aviation records have been set at Edwards than any other place on earth, and the capabilities of most Air Force weapons systems continue to be proven there first. The base is named for test pilot Captain Glen Edwards, who died in 1948 while testing the YB-49 Flying Wing. It also honors Edwards Air Force Base personnel and families for their steadfast support of the Air Force mission to defend the freedom and future of the United States of America, and includes a tribute to Major General Irving L. Branch, 1912-1966, remembered as a professional airman who loved the outdoors and all in it.