Description

32 pages
Spring Mud of the Sacramento Valley oozed ankle deep under the rain on an April day in 1942 when the advance echelon of Air Corps men reached the spot that was to become Chico Army Air Field. The advance echelon had come by motor convoy from Moffett Field, where the flying school was getting ready to move in order to make room for the Navy. Field kitchens were set up, tents were pitched, and the men started the big job of building a flying field. April 29 saw the first training flight from the new post, and already the field was swinging into high gear. By May 23 all personnel and every plane had moved north from Moffett and the school was officially on its own. Since the day of activation Chico Army Air Field has trained hundreds of cadets, many of them now flying with combat outfits on fighting fronts throughout the world. They have received virtually every decoration possible. But the men and officers of the post have contributed more to the war effort than flyers. They gave Chico Army Air Field the distinction of being first in the Army Air Forces to have 100 per cent of its personnel purchasing War Bonds on the payroll savings plan. A full ten per cent of the field’s payroll goes into War Bonds. Recognition for outstanding achievement came before the base was even six months old. The field was cited for “an outstanding contribution to the war effort” as pilots and cadets completed a tool of 94,355 flying hours here and at Moffett without a fatal training accident. This total was increased until seventeen months had elapsed without a fatality. Chico’s contributions to the war and to the peace to come are many. Its contributions of the next year will be recorded in the skies over Europe, and, we hope, Japan.