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Web posted
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Strother Field turns 65 years old today
By MICK WATTS
Traveler Staff Writer
Today marks the sixty-fifth anniversary of the opening of Strother Field. Local activist, Col. Mike Lind, Army (Ret.) is concerned about the lack of recognition being given to Strother Field's history. He hopes that some type of commemorative plaque can be designed that focuses specifically on WWII, and Capt. Donald Strother, the airfield's namesake.
Strother Field Manager Shawn McGrew said an effort was made a couple of years ago to appropriately recognize Strother and to commemorate the field's opening, but funding was not available to create a monument that would do justice to Strother's memory.
Lind cited local newspaper coverage of Strother Field's dedication on Jan. 25, 1943, written about the previous day's events, "Thousands Join in Ceremonies at New Field," and "Father's Awards Given to Little Son of Hero," another proclaims, "Huge Crowds Present."
Lynn said, "clearly this was a major event for this area and for those living here." He noted another article's headline, "Many Turned Away at Strother Field, Gates Closed at 3 p.m. Because of Size of Crowd."
This story went on to report the following: "some unofficial estimates placed the crowd at the dedication all the way from 17,000 to 25,000.
McGrew said that he had worked with Strother's daughter in an effort to acquire funding for a custom-designed flagpole with commemorative plaques, but the money raised was far too short of the goal that had been set to create the right kind of monument, so the project was abandoned.
In an e-mail sent to the Traveler, Lind provided some background on Strother Field explaining that the field's name honors Captain Donald Root Strother, of Winfield, the first Cowley County Army Air Corps pilot to lose his life in action in World War II. Strother died from combat injuries received Feb. 13, 1942, just 68 days after Pearl Harbor was attacked.
Strother was the youngest of four brothers in his country's service when the war took his life. He was piloting one of nine B-17 "Flying Fortresses" that had been flown across the Java Sea to conduct a raid on Japanese naval installations located on the island of Java in the Dutch East Indies.
Lind said that to understand why and how Strother Field came about it is necessary to consider the events happening locally and worldwide in greater detail. A series of interesting events occurred before Strother Field's official dedication.
Before World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt called on Congress to take steps to protect the western hemisphere 'against storms from any quarters.' His call focused attention on the armed forces. The idea of a jointly owned Winfield-Arkansas City Flying Field was developed with a location mid-way between Arkansas City and Winfield, to be accessed from U.S. Highway 77. The site was officially designated as a training base and named Strother Field on Nov. 13, 1942.
Strother Field was used to train Army Air Corps pilots for the United States Second Air Force. The primary trainer utilized was the BT-13 but P-47 pursuit fighters were used in some training exercises toward the end of the war. Limited training exercises took place after the WWII into 1946.
At the peak of operations in 1943, there were approximately 3,400 Army Air Force cadets and military personnel and about 400 civilian employees stationed there. The married officers, their families and families of other personnel lived off the base in Winfield and Arkansas City.
The impact of Strother Field on the area was economically positive. The installation served as a focal point for the local war effort. Strother Field functions today as a major economic contributor to Cowley County and facilitates the operation of a number of local businesses and manufacturers.
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