MEMORIAL DAY CEREMONY
and
DEDICATION OF MONUMENT HONORING THOSE
WHO DIED DURING TRAINING
ARDMORE ARMY AIR FIELD
and
ARDMORE AIR FORCE BASE
ARDMORE ARMY AIR FIELD
and
ARDMORE AIR FORCE BASE
Ardmore Army Air Field was activated August 3, 1942 as a glider training facility. The Arbuckle Mountains located to the north and east of the base were considered as ideal for creating updrafts.
The first commander of the base, Lt. Colonel James M. Walker, set up Headquarters in the Wirt Franklin Building. In the summer of 1943, the air field became a sub-base of Will Rogers Field and was designated as a training facility for bomber crews. With the end of World War II, it was closed in September 1945. Unknown to many residents, German POWs play a key role in the deactivation process.
With the military needs created by the Korean War, the facility was reactivated September 1, 1953 as Ardmore Air Force Base. It was deactivated a second, and final, time and returned to the City of Ardmore in 1959.
The first operational C-130 aircraft in the Air Force was delivered to the 463rd Troop Carrier Wing at Ardmore Air Force Base on December 9, 1956. It was named "City of Ardmore" and flew missions in Europe, Africa, Japan, Okinawa and Vietnam. It was retired October 9, 1989, and is now on static display at Dyess Air Force Base, Abilene, Texas. (Its photograph is on the front page of this program.)
LEST WE FORGET
Ardmore Air Park
May 26, 2003
Sponsored by
Carter County Veterans Council
City of Ardmore
Gary Simmons and Butch Bridges