Realized I never followed-up on this.
Bottom line: We went to Dayton. Yes, it is worth visiting.
Got in in the late afternoon. Checked into one of the few downtown hotels--the Crowne Plaza. Convenient, free parking in the garage across the street.
Walked just a couple of blocks east to the "Oregon District". Lots of restaurants, bars, cafes, etc. Looks like they're doing a pretty good job of revitalizing the neighborhood, although there are still a couple of "adult" establishments that (I'm assuming) are remnants of its sketchier past. Did not feel unsafe walking around though. Had some pretty decent Thai food for dinner, then nightcaps back at the hotel's excellent top-floor lounge.
Bright and early the next morning, we headed over to the "Wright-Dunbar Historic District" in West Dayton to check out one of the Wright Brother's shops and the well-executed visitor's center next door. Easily worth a couple hour's of time. Then drove around the neighborhood a bit and saw the site where the Wright house used to be (Henry Ford bought it and had it shipped to Michigan). Would've been nice to have more time to explore this area, but we had to press on...
Next stop was the Air Force museum, and there's not much I can add to what already been said about that place. Holy moly! We had to set clear priorities on what to see and what to skip. I'd go back in a heartbeat. Really amazing place.
After that, we drove a bit further east to the surprisingly-hard-to-find Huffman Field. Oddly low-key considering how important/significant the site is. We were the only people there. It was awesome.
Overall, we're glad we visited Dayton. Thanks to all here for the tips/advice.