The C-9A Nightingale, a modified McDonnell Douglas DC-9, was the only aircraft in the U.S. Air Force inventory at the time specifically dedicated to moving litter and ambulatory patients. Its name was chosen by Lieutenant Colonel Mary Ann Tonne, chief nurse of the 375th Aeromedical Airlift Wing, in honor of Florence Nightingale, who pioneered military nursing during the Crimean War. At its initial rollout ceremony on June 17, 1968, in Long Beach, California, the first C-9A, 67-22584, was christened with water from the Sea of Galilee by Mrs. Elsie Ott Madot, who in 1943 had been the first Army Air Force nurse to fly on an intercontinental aeromedical evacuation mission. The aircraft was specially fitted with medical equipment including a hydraulically operated folding ramp, patient monitoring devices, and special oxygen, vacuum, and electrical systems, and it nearly doubled the speed and range of the propeller-driven C-131A Samaritan it replaced. Scott AFB became the hub for C-9A operations, maintenance, and training. The 375th Aeromedical Airlift Wing held continental U.S. aeromedical responsibilities from 1966 and gained worldwide aeromedical responsibilities in 1975, supporting that mission until Air Force-wide reorganizations in 1990. The 375th Airlift Wing continued flying medical missions with its C-9s until August 11, 2003, when Scott's last C-9A Nightingale aeromedical flight departed. The displayed aircraft spent most of its flying career in the Pacific Theater, though it also flew for the 375th from 1980 to 1993. During its 35-year history, the C-9A Nightingale was known as the "Cadillac of Airevac."