The History of San Marcos Army Airfield
San Marcos Army Airfield has a proud history as one of the three largest navigation schools in the US military during WWII. The products of this school was assigned to all theaters in the war and made victory possible.
In an amazing process, the school graduated it’s first class in less than a year from when the construction of the airfield was started. A War Department directive to acquire the site for the school was issued in May 1942, but it was not until late June that the first construction got under way with the beginning of work on streets and culverts. Captain U.E. Hubble of the Corps of Engineers had arrived earlier in the month to supervise the construction.
Only a few days less than a year after the ground was broken for the streets, the first class of navigators graduated on June 24, 1943. With this record to mark its first year, the school continued to graduate a new class every three weeks until … TBD.
Site for the school – several hundred acres of good black Central Texas farmland – was purchased by the City of San Marcos with the proceeds of a $100,000 bond issue and presented to the government. The site encompassed several farms, homes, barns and fields of corn and cotton had to make way for the new Air Forces establishment.
Contracts for the major construction work, totaling in excess of $5,000,000 were let late in July. Erection of administrative buildings, classrooms, barracks, hangars, mess halls and recreational buildings went forward speedily. In September, Lt Col J.B. Olson, projects officer, arrived to assume general charge of the field until it’s completion.
The flag was raised at the field for the first time on November 25, signifying that the Army had moved in and was about ready to take over the establishment. Lt Col JM Hutchison, new commanding officer of the field, presided at the ceremonies.
Activation of the field took place on December 15 when Colonel Hutchison formally accepted the post and administrative functions from Major Hubble of the Corps of Engineers. Major Hubble presented a key to the post to Colonel Hutchison to symbolize the transfer of jurisdiction from the Engineers to the Air Forces. Members of Colonel Hutchison’s staff who participated in the ceremony were: Lt Col William B Wimer, executive officer, Major William K St Clair, post adjutant, Capt William D Doughty, Jr, provost marshall and Lt Henry K Orgain, post engineer.
Construction work continued and officer and enlisted personnel to administer and operate the field and school activities kept pouring in until in late February the establishment had reached the point at which it could begin the work for which it had been established, the training of aerial navigators. The first class of cadets arrived on February 22 and each three weeks since, another has arrived to spend 18 weeks in the intensive military, athletic, academic and practical navigation training necessary to produce the skilled aerial navigator the AAF must have to fulfill its mission of carrying the attack to the enemy wherever he may be found.
The role of the navigator is modern aerial warfare is a vital one- and growing more and more important as the air offensive of the United Nations mounts in intensity. It is the responsibility of the navigator to tell the bomber pilot how to rendezvous with other bombers at a point 15,000 feet above the Mediterranean, say, and then to direct him several hundred miles to a target somewhere in Hitler’s Fortress Europe and back to base again.
During his 18 weeks at the school, the cadet is taught four methods of naviation: radio, pilotage, dead reckoning and celestial.
The navigator relies most heavily on celestial navigation. To aid him in guiding his plane he is armed with a sextant, a Mercator chart, a Weem’s platter, a computer, a pair of dividers, an air almanac, a book of tables, scrap paper, log book and pencil. With these he plots his course through the trackless skies over oceans, mountains, or deserts to enable his plane to fulfill its mission – blasting an Axis establishment into oblivion.
“The world’s most exacting scientists are the Army Air Forces navigators”, said Major General Gerald C Brant, commanding general of the Gulf Coast Training Center.
And because of that exacting science of aerial navigation that the Air Forces’ navigation students are learning at San Marcos Army Air Field, and with San Marcos-trained navigators finding the way, the Axis partners are going to find plenty of things to regret.
From “San Marcos Army Air Field – A picture book of the field and its activities”, year unknown.
About San Marcos Army Airfield
During the course of World War II, the navigation school trained about 10,000 students. The school was closed in September 1945 when all USAAF navigator training was consolidated at Ellington Field near Houston; the San Marcos airfield closed at the end of November.[4]
San Marcos Field was reactivated in May 1946 by Army Air Forces Flying Training Command when the USAAF helicopter and liaison school was transferred there from Sheppard Field, near Wichita Falls.[4]: 44 The 3585th Pilot Training Wing (Liaison-Helicopter) was activated as the Operational Training Unit on 25 August 1948 until inactivated on 1 March 1949, and helicopter training moved to Waco Air Force Base. San Marcos Field was inactive from 31 March 1949 until 15 January 1951.
San Marcos Air Force Base
San Marcos Air Force Base was designated on 1 February 1951 under Air Training Command when the 3585th Pilot Training Wing and 3586th Tech Tng Sq (Liaison-Helicopter) reactivated for the return of helicopter and liaison flight training (the area had terrain similar to that of Korea.)[4] Helicopter and Liaison mechanics' training also moved to the base from Sheppard AFB, and San Marcos had 5,000 assigned and was the largest helicopter and Liaison training facility in the United States.
Edward Gary Air Force Base
Gary Air Force Base was named on 10 May 1953[4] for Lieutenant Arthur Edward Gary, the first Hays County, Texas, soldier killed in World War II—and the name was expanded to Edward Gary Air Force Base on 1 September 1955.[4] USAF flying training ended on 14 December 1956.
Camp Gary was the installation name after its transfer to the Department of the Army on 15 December 1956. A civilian contractor trained pilots for fixed wing aircraft until the summer of 1959, and the base was essentially closed in 1963. On 20 November 1964, President Johnson announced that the abandoned Camp Gary would be used as a Job Corps facility, the Gary Job Corps Center,[1] the largest in the nation.[citation needed]-----
Biography of Lieutenant Edward Gary
Arthur Edward Gary, the only son of Arthur Earl and Lottie Camp Gary, was born on January 24, 1918 in San Marcos, Texas. At the age of 12, he became a member of the First Baptist Church of San Marcos. Much of his early life was actively concerned with Boy Scout work in his community. He was the first in the area to attain the coveted award of Eagle Scout and later served as head of the local scout troop for over a year.
Young Gary graduated from San Marcos High School where he had been a star of the varsity football squad. He entered SWTSTC (Southwest Texas State Teachers College, now Texas State University) the spring semester of 1935 and in the fall transferred to Texas A&M where he was active in intra-mural boxing and became Intra-mural Boxing Champion two years in a row.
During his last semester at A&M, he was interviewed by a Cadet Recruiting Team then touring the college. He was enthusiastic over the Air Force’s aviation program and immediately upon his graduation in January, 1940, went to San Antonio to join the cadet program. He received his early training in the South Texas bases of Randolph and Kelly in October 1940.
On December 7, 1941, Edward Gary, now 2nd Lt Edward Gary, was serving as co-pilot of a B-17 named “Old 99”. He was stationed in the Philippines at Clark Field with the 19th Bombardment Group, 30th Bombardment Squadron. On that fateful day, Capt Frank Kurtz, pilot, had gone to base operations for clearance while the rest of the crew waited at the aircraft. The first wave of Japanese attacks damaged the “Old 99” and killed Lt Gary and other members of the crew. Lieutenant Gary was the first military casualty from San Marcos and Hays County, Texas, during World War II.------
Summary - EDWARD GARY AFB San Marcos. Texas. Activated as San Marcos Field 15 Dec 42. Conducted navigator training until 30 Nov 45. Placed in inactive status. Activated in May 46. Conducted liaison and helicopter flying and technical training until 1 Mar 49 when it became an auxiliary field to Randolph AFB. Inactivated 31 Mar 49. Placed on active status 15 Jan 51 and redesignated San Marcos AFB 1 Feb 51. Conducted flying training. Redesignated Gary AFB on 10 May 53. Redesignated Edward Gary AFB 1 Sep 55. Conducted flying training until inactivated 14 Dec 56. Transferred to the Department of the Army on 1 5 Dec 56.
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