Charlotte AAB NCO Club Dance Program, WWII 227

Charlotte AAB NCO Club Dance Program, WWII 227, WWII Papers, Military Collection, State Archives of North Carolina, Raleigh, N.C.

The collection is composed of one original dance program for a dance held at the NCO Club [Non-Commissioned Officers] at the Charlotte Army Air Base (later Morris Field) in Charlotte, NC, on September 13, 1941. The program lists the names of the club officers, club board of directors, and the entertainment committee members of the club. This particular program belonged to U.S. Army service member Mark Ingram Jr., who was stationed there and resided on base in Barracks 28. This program documents activities at the Charlotte Army Air Base before the United States entered into World War II.

Although the United States did not formally enter into World War II until December 1941, the country was involved in preparing for eventual combat and in supporting the Allies with supplies. As a result, new military installations were quickly opened around the U.S. between 1939 and 1941. A small airport called the Douglas Municipal Airport in Charlotte, NC, was renamed as the Charlotte Army Air Base, to serve as an Army Air Corps base. It had been taken over by the U.S. Army Air Corps, with a dedication ceremony held on April 21, 1941, by a number of dignitaries. North Carolina Governor James M. Broughton and New York City Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia spoke at the dedication parade, where the mile-long parade included the Central High School band marching down West Trade Street in Charlotte. About 10,000 visitors were reported on the day of the dedication at Charlotte Army Air Base.

The base had a number of different leaders at the start of operations there in 1941. This included Col. C. W. Howard, a WWI veteran, was named Base Commander, serving from March of 1941 until he was transferred to Knollwood, NC, between Southern Pines and Pinehurst, NC. Lt. Col. C. W. Howard became the acting commander of the base, until Col. Richard H. Ballard took his place in the summer of 1942. Major Roland Birnn served as the executive officer under Howard's command. Col. William B. Mayer headed up the training activities of troops at the Charlotte Army Air Base starting in August 1941. Tent cities popped up around the base, as new recruits and already-enlisted servicemen began pouring into the area for field service and maneuver duty training. A chapel was dedicated there on September 14, 1941.

In spring 1941, Paul Wesley Bare, a Methodist minister's son from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, became the Post Chaplain. In spring 1942, Lt. Russell G. Becktel, a United Brethren in Christ Church minister, and Lt. James A. Martin, a Catholic church priest, joined Bare to serve the different Christian denominations at the base. Another operation set up in advance of WWII was the American Red Cross, with Ernest F. Kausch as the director in charge as of 1941. At the base, the Red Cross located families and servicemen, made loans for personnel needing to travel for family problems and emergencies, encouraged communications between the military and their family, and helped find employment for the families of service personnel.

On January 22, 1942, the name of the airport was changed to Morris Field to honor the late Major William Colb Morris of Harrisburg, NC, who had served as a WWI military aviator and instructor. The 29th Air Base Group called Morris Field its home during WWII. The federal government spent $6 million dollars to turn Morris Field into a pilot training base, and kept it operating for five years throughout WWII. The base published their own newsletter called the Morris Code.

Other Army Air Corps leaders who served at Morris Field were 1st Lt. Graham T. Stevens, who became the Fire Marshall; and 1st Lt. John Duncan Muse who became the Assistant Post Exchange Officer. Cpt. Paul L. Snyder was the Head Mess Officer, and Lt. John Marshall was the Assistant Mess Officer. The Charlotte AAB mess hall had all the modern conveniences of the time, and was maintained to be very clean and inviting. The hall was divided into two sections, with each holding 500 men. Initially, Army Air Corps officers ate with the enlisted men there before dining separately as WWII progressed.

With the end of WWII coming, the Army Air Corps vacated Morris Field and turned it over to local Charlotte government officials on Mary 14, 1946. To relieve the post-war housing shortage, Charlotte officials converted many base structures-including airplane hangars-into apartment buildings. For example, the Charlotte Housing Authority built the Stonewall Jackson Homes, which today is located southeast of the present-day airport and runways. The city of Charlotte would purchase the rights to the old Army airstrip, and Morris Field initially was renamed the Charlotte Municipal Airport. This airport became the precursor to present-day Charlotte Douglas International Airport. The former Morris Field would also later become the home of the North Carolina Air National Guard.

[All of the information in this historical note was taken directly from the following sources, with some changes or reformatting: "Morris Field" article, Exhibits page, The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Story website, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, viewed at https://www.cmstory.org/exhibits/ home-front-charlotte-mecklenburg-1941-1946-places/morris-field; and "Morris Field" article by Joshua Howard, 2006, NCPedia, State Library of North Carolina, viewed at https://www. ncpedia.org/morris-field]

The collection was donated to the Military Collection at the State Archives of North Carolina by a private donor in January 2018.