| Buckley Air Force Base |
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HISTORY During the early years of World War II the city of Denver purchased a parcel of land several miles east of the city and donated it to the Department of the Army. The site was named ''Buckley Field'' after 1st Lt. John Harold Buckley, a Longmont, Colorado native, who lost his life while on a strafing mission behind enemy lines on September 17 , 1918 . Construction on the base began in early 1942 . Buckley Field would accept and train over 50,000 airmen in initial basic training. The Army Air Corps Technical Training School at Buckley consisted of bombardier and armorer training for aircrews on the B-17 Fortress and B-24 Liberator bombers. In 1946, the Colorado Air National Guard assumed control of Buckley. The Department Of The Navy took charge of Buckley Field in 1947 and renamed the base ''Naval Air Station-Denver, Colorado''. The renamed base now housed veterans and their families waiting to return to civilian life. Thousands of veterans transitioned back to civilian life over the next four years. The Navy continued to operate and maintain the base until 1959 , when it was decommissioned and reverted to Air Force ownership. Licensed by the Air Force to the state of Colorado in 1960, the base became ''Buckley Air National Guard Base'' for the next forty years. During the 1970s and 1980s, the suburban growth of Aurora, Denver's eastern neighbor, edged toward Buckley. The facility was eventually annexed by the city. Resembling huge golf balls, the radar domes on the base are a prominent Aurora landmark. In 1997 , Air Force Space Command stood up the 821st Space Group on Buckley. EXTERNAL LINKS |
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