August 21, 1994

County Airport Began As World War II Fighter Training Field

With thanks to Brig.Gen (Ret.) Glenn Herd, Cindy Anderson, Fred Watts, Lois Kelly, and U.S. Cleveland.

First Of Two Parts

There was great excitement at Punta Gorda in September 1942 when Florida Senator Claude Pepper announced that the Civil Aeronautics Authority had decided to build an Army Air Force training center there.

The United States was fully engaged in the European and African theaters of World War II, and large numbers of fighter pilots were urgently needed. In those days, there was not yet a separate, strategic air force. Each branch of the military had its own air arm.

County Attorney Earl D. Farr told the Punta Gorda Herald that the CAA had earmarked $700,000 for the facility. It was to be built on 1,720 acres east of the "county stockade" (prison) then at the corner of Carmelita and Florida streets. Construction got underway on county-owned land in July 1943 after a "trailer park" was moved from the site. A 3-mile asphalt road was built to the site, and another three and a half miles were laid within the base -- all at Army expense. Punta Gorda extended its water main. Florida Power brought in electricity, and the phone company installed six circuits. The army installed its own sewage treatment plant and fire fighting equipment.

An enlisted men's club with donated furniture was set up next door to the New Theater on Marion Ave.

Army personnel began to arrive in November 1943 with their wives and children. However there was a shortage of rooms for them in the little town. Maj. Forrest H. Munger, commanding officer of the new base, appealed to local residents for rooms to rent.

The Herald relayed the appeal in a rare, front-page editorial:

"Greetings to the Army! Punta Gorda became an army town this week as troops moved in to prepare for activation of the new airbase here.

"It was a spectacular change from the quiet community of a week ago when 10 lonely soldiers arrived to do some of the ordinary jobs. Streets that had not been crowded, except on Saturday nights, are filled with soldiers and their families.

"Speaking of families, the statement that the United States Army is 'the marrying-est army in the history of the world' is evident here.

"A very large percentage of the men apparently are married, and many of their wives and children are here with them. Rooms and apartments throughout the city and suburbs have already been snapped up. Real estate and rental agencies are urged that more rooms and apartments be made available.

"There also was quickly shown a serious shortage of eating places. Steps already are underway to open more restaurants.

"We have the greatest opportunity in our history to serve a group of soldiers -- and at the same time leave a favorable impression with them that will carry into the post-war period and bring them back as visitors."

A month later, Lt. W.J. DeLaney, construction engineer of the Punta Gorda air field, completed the initial building phase. "I have never been on a job where the people worked as well with me," DeLaney declared. "Everyone has been swell."

Mentioned particularly for their "100 percent cooperation" were County Attorney Earl D. Farr and the board of county commissioners, city officials, R.S. Maxwell, Manager E.H. Smith of the electric company, Superintendent C.E. Hurd of the city waterworks department, Mayor W.H. Monson, and Sheriff Fred Quednau.

Formal dedication of the Punta Gorda Army Air Field -- a "sub-base" of the Venice Army Air Field -- took place March 19, 1944. Senator Claude Pepper delivered the leading address before a crowd of 1,000 civilians and soldiers.

Sen. and Mrs. Pepper arrived at the field by special airplane and was met in the air by a fighter-plane escort led by Lt. Col. Fred Hook, Jr. The speaker was introduced by Farr. Senator Pepper praised the leadership of President Roosevelt as commander-in-chief of the armed forces and credited him with doing a "masterful job." He said, "United Nations leadership excels that of the enemy -- from the top leaders to the officers directing activities of the services in the training camps and on the war fronts of the world."

Note the term "United Nations" that Roosevelt had used in the Atlantic Charter of January 1942 to describe the allies.

The United Nations Organization we know today was not chartered until 1945.

Maj. Munger was master of ceremonies. Mayor W.H. Monson and County Chairman W.R. Sparks extended a welcome to the field personnel. Col. V.B. Dixon of Venice, commander of the Sarasota, Venice and Punta Gorda fields, thanked people of the area for their cooperation.

Training at the air field settled into a hurry-up routine. Replacements for front-line fatalities were urgently needed. Principal reason for choosing Florida for training fields was the predominantly good weather for flying. An unusual, but highly efficient, runway consisted of three 5,000-foot strips of asphalt in triangular configuration. Only one other such pattern was built. The strips were 150 feet wide with 8-foot packed-marl shoulders. Heavy oil for mixing asphalt 1 1/2 inches thick was purchased from Mexico. U.S. oil was reserved for gasoline essential to the war effort.

The original runways are still in use, though two were re-surfaced in recent years. A spur was added to one of these in 1986 -- lengthening it to 6,500 feet for large jet planes. Eighty-one P-40 airplanes and 22 various other craft served an average of 200 pilots in two squadrons -- the 502nd Fighter-bomber, and the 490th Fighter. Forty-four assigned officers and 1,097 enlisted men kept the squadrons flying. Later the P-40s were replaced with new P-51s. There were 61 service buildings -- hangars, repair shops, mess halls, etc. Personnel lived in 268 "hutments" consisting of wooden lower halves and canvas tops. A 20-foot control tower on open-work steel beams sorted out the 500 flights monthly.

Brig. Gen.(Ret.) Glenn Herd, of Deep Creek, was an aviation cadet at the field in 1944 and was retained as an instructor. He says sand-filled practice bombs were dropped on a target at the Cecil Webb Wildlife Management Area south of the field. Air-to-air gunnery was conducted over the Gulf.

The war ended before Herd got overseas, but he stayed in the Army. He flew 100 combat missions during the Korean War and flew cargo missions in the Vietnam War.

Occasionally there would be surprise "air raids" on the Punta Gorda field to spray tear-gas in order to familiarize the men with gas masks and how to function in a gas attack.

One day in September 1944, a sudden shift of wind carried fumes into Punta Gorda. The result was reported by the Herald:

"All Punta Gorda, and some surrounding territory, dissolved in tears about nine o'clock this morning -- real, honest to goodness tears that welled from the eyes and trickled down the cheeks of all citizens.

"School was disrupted for some 30 minutes. A.S. Taylor and his high-line crew of the Florida Power Company had to suspend operations. In fact, everything in the city came to a standstill while the citizens had a good cry.

"Capt. R.H. Rehlm, base adjutant, said the field was having its monthly gas alert. Everyone there had gas masks. Here, there were none.

"This was the first time the tear gas -- which results in temporary discomfort and does no injury to the eyes -- has gone wild. Officers say it won't happen again."

Tear gas thereafter was discharged from "jeeps" -- small, rugged vehicles widely used during World War II.

Despite efforts by the newspaper to down play the incident, Punta Gordans were critical of the base. Five months earlier, Major Munger complained -- as he turned over command to Maj. J.K. Coughlan -- that local landlords were over-charging families of base personnel.

This prompted the city council to call a special meeting to investigate the matter. Former Mayor E.M. Parker presided in the absence of Mayor W.H. Monson. Maj. Coughlin and Lt. Alfred James, public relations officer, told council: The rental situation, as a whole, is not bad. However, there are a few flagrant situations in which unreasonably high rents are charged army personnel."

Council appointed a Fair Rents Committee to handle complaints. Chairman was E.H. Smith, district manager of Florida Power, and immediate past president of the Chamber of Commerce. Other members were Earl Farr, S.M. Dismukes, W.F. Rigell, and Elmer Oswald. Such disputes were common nationwide until Congress established the Office of Price Administration and rolled back rents.

Tempers at Punta Gorda cooled when a newly appointed United Service Organization (USO) and the Punta Gorda Woman's Club agreed to establish a servicemen's recreation center at the latter's building on Sullivan St.

Earl Farr, chairman of the county USO committee organized two months earlier, resigned the position at the combined meeting. With mission completed, he turned over a check for $660 -- a two-month allotment for the local center.

Mrs. May D. Durrance, active for more than a year in the informal enlisted men's club, was elected chairwoman to succeed Farr. Others elected were Rev. W.M. Mullen, vice- president, Mrs. Fred M. Johnson, treasurer; and Mrs. Cecelia Thames, secretary. Mrs. Sadie B. Farrington was chosen house chairwoman for the USO center. Mrs. Paul's salary was set at $100 per month and Mrs. Farrington was allotted $60 monthly for expenses. The Woman's Club received $50 a month for use of the building.

As a member of the national USO, traveling song-and- dance troupes of pretty girls on the "blue circuit" came periodically to entertain area servicemen. Max Baer, then world-champion heavyweight boxer, talked about the importance of physical fitness. Rotary volunteers distributed refreshments and cigarettes. Lt. Col. R.A. Hanes took over command of the airfield in September 1944. At that time, the field's designation was changed from Replacement Training Unit (fighter) to Combat Crew Training Station (fighter.) New P-5ls replaced the old P-40s. Instructors now were mostly decorated, combat veterans rotated to the states.

The year 1944 brought the first casualties at the field.

A portion of the city pier had been taken over for a crash-boat operation, but was of no help in the three fatalities.

Flight Officer Edward B. Harrison, a trainee officer pilot, crashed after engine trouble developed on a demolition bombing mission March 9.

Capt. Dorrance C. Zabriskie crashed on a dive-bombing exercise and was instantly killed March 31. Ironically he was operations officer on the staff of the 490th Fighter Squadron and presided over the Crash Investigation Board.

Lt. Harris L. Kimble, an officer trainee, was killed in a crash during a routine training flight June l. Search parties found the plane and body on mangrove sand flats six miles west of the field. He was 19 years old.

NEXT WEEK: MILITARY TO CIVILIAN

By Lindsey Williams, columnist for Sun Coast Media Group newspapers

Photos courtesy of Brig.Gen.(Ret.) Glenn Herd

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Punta Gorda Air Field personnel lived in "hutments." Glenn Herd, then a lieutenant and fighter pilot instructor, is at left.

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First fighter planes at the Punta Gorda Air Field during World War II were P40s (above.) Later, these were replaced with newer P51s.