SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 2017
SPECIAL SECTION
R A S E Y 5 7
INSIDE THE SPECIAL SECTION
LOOKING BACK IN TIME THROUGH FAIRCHILD PICTURES
HOW FAIRCHILD AIR FORCE BASE GOT ITS NAME
BASE HISTORY FINALLY HAS PLACE TO CALL HOME
MEET THE FACES BEHIND THE SCENES OF FAIRCHILD
From the Spokane land purchase in 1941 to construct what was then known as Galena Station to the April 1952 failed takeoff of a B-36 bomber that killed 15 crew members, Fairchild Air Force base has a long and storied history that can be told through archived photographs from long ago. TIMELINE AND PHOTOS ON PAGES 8 & 9
The base is the namesake of Air Force General Muir S. Fairchild, who had a long military history before he died March 17, 1950. Moves were made to rename Spokane Air Force Base in Fairchild’s honor later that year. The ceremony was attended by “the largest gathering of top ranking Air Force officers ever here at one time,” an article read. PAGE 2
Fairchild’s Heritage Museum closed in 2002 at the order of the Pentagon, leaving its thousands of historical artifacts without a home. After more than a decade, it finally does. The Honor Point Military & Aerospace Museum opened in June to house a collection of uniforms and other pieces from Fairchild’s history. PAGE 4
There is a vast network of workers and service members inside the base – some have jobs seemingly normal to the outside world, while others have high-tech tasks hard to grasp. Thumb through the pages to find a sampling of the people who come from all over the country to handle the day-to-day operations of Fairchild. STARTING ON PAGE 2
ILLUSTRATION BY CHRIS BOVEY / VINTAGESPOKANEPRINTS.COM