ory of flight
PRESERVING OTTUMWA ’ S AVIATION HISTORY
eMiLy hAwK , ASSOCiAte editOR
As Americans , we ’ re all familiar with the event former United States President Franklin D . Roosevelt notably described as “ A date which will live in infamy .”
On Dec . 7 , 1941 , 353 Imperial Japanese aircraft initiated a surprise attack on Pearl Harbor in Honolulu , Hawaii . Our soldiers were at a great disadvantage on the ground and at sea — more than 2,400 Americans died , and another 1,100 were wounded .
“ When you think about Pearl Harbor , you think about all of those sunken battleships ,” says Stephen Black , pilot and Ottumwa native . “ They got sunk because for 400 years , the epitome of a weapon system was the gun … The military put their money into battleships and artillery . But what do we do ?
We get hit hard at Pearl Harbor from the air .”
The attack was the catalyst for our nation ’ s involvement in World War II — a fact we , our children and grandchildren are taught in history class . But how did we prepare our sons , brothers , fathers , nephews , uncles and cousins to fight in a war that changed the world forever ?
As a response , the United States Navy quickly increased its inventory of combat-ready pilots and airplanes by constructing dozens of air training bases scattered throughout the Midwest .
U . S . Naval Air Station Ottumwa was one of them . With the help of local volunteers , Black is preserving an important facet of Ottumwa ’ s history .
We Are Ottumwa 15