A fifty year ‘marriage’ continues

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Gene Lappe
  • 7th Bomb Wing Public Affairs
DYESS AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  As Dyess celebrates the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the base after its namesake, the partnership bwtween the base and Abilene that began five decades ago remains strong and continues to grow.

In the coming weeks, the Dyess Global Warrior will provide a snapshot of a different decade of base history leading up to the Big Country Appreciation Day May 21.

The golden anniversary will culminate with the Big Country Appreciation Day, the base’s annual open house and air show. On this day, the base welcomes its neighbors to the base to see first-hand the pride and professionalism of the men and women of the 7th Bomb Wing and the 317th Airlift Group.

The partnership between Dyess Air Force Base and the city of Abilene officially began Sept 24, 1953, when ground was broken near what is now the north end of the runway.

The idea to bring a base to Abilene actually began in 1951. The city, still reeling from the closure of Camp Barkley and Tye Field sought to bring a base to the area. The civic leaders courted Strategic Air Command commander, General Curtis LeMay. They told General LeMay the city of Abilene had a lot to offer and it wanted to be apart of the defense of America. They won over the general, but Congress still had to approve the plan.

The city also pledged to buy 3,700 acres and deed it, along with the former Tye field, to the Air Force. More than $893,000 was raised to buy the land, and in July 1953, Congress approved the plan.

On New Year’s Day 1955, the first base commander of Abilene Air Force Base was named, Lt. Col. Jack Brown. Also on that date, authority was given to organize the first squadron.

The first building completed on the new installation was the base chapel, and it opened in February 1955.

By early 1955, the first enlisted personnel arrived on base. Tech. Sgt. Harold Olson and Airman 2nd Class John Seaver hold that distinction. By December 1955, the base population was almost 500 men.

The base formally opened April 14, 1956, in conjunction with Abilene’s 75th birthday. Later that year, the base was renamed in honor of World War II hero and Albany,Texas, native, Lt. Col.William Edwin Dyess.

Colonel Dyess was a P-40 Warhawk pilot in the Philippines when WWII broke out. He was eventually captured and was forced to take part in the infamous Bataan Death March. He survived and later escaped, and with the help of other American and the Philippine Freedom Fighters, waged a guerrilla warfare campaign against the Japanese. He would later escape to Australia and make his way back to America. He died in a plane crash while flight testing a P-38 over a populated area in Burbank, Calif., in 1943. Although he had ample time to bail out, he chose to sacrifice himself rather than risk the lives of others and guided the plane into a vacant parking lot.

The first unit activated at the new base was the 4021st Air Base Squadron. Next, the 341st Bombardment Wing activated Sept. 1, 1955, and forged the mission of the Strategic Air Command, flying the B-47 Stratojet, the backbone of the cold war.

September 8, 1957, the 96th Bomb Wing was activated at Dyess, and for a short period coexisted with the 341st BW.

As the 1950s came to a close, many firsts and new beginnings had taken place at Dyess. The next decade would offer many changes for the new base.