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A U.S. B-52 Stratofortress drops a load of 750-pound bombs over a Vietnam coastal area during the Vietnam War, Nov. 5, 1965. Boeing's B-52 bomber has never been used the way it was initially intended: dropping nuclear bombs on an enemy a continent away. But the plane, which turns 50 years old Thursday, Nov. 29, 2001, has proven versatile enough to be kept around, seeing action in every major conflict since Vietnam, including the war over Afghanistan. (KEYSTONE/AP Photo/USAF)