Fairmont Army Air Field

More of Fairmont survives than of most Nebraska airfields, which have lost nearly all their main buildings. A National Park Service survey counts three largely intact runways, each nearly 7,000 feet long, with their taxiways and aprons, and six wartime buildings: four large bomber hangars, a small oil storage building and a small pump house. A water tower still rises over a 20-acre area of ruins and foundations. Work began in mid-September 1942 and was largely finished by late November, and the field once held some 275 support buildings and structures.

What the plaque says

Fairmont Army Air Field Fairmont Army Air Field, located 3-1/2 miles south, was one of eleven army air forces training fields built in Nebraska during World War II. The 1,980- acre field provided final training for the 451st, 485th, 504th, and 16th Heavy Bombardment Groups before they proceeded to the European, Mediter- ranean, or Pacific Theaters. The 98th, 467th, and 489th Bombardment Groups returning from Europe trained at Fairmont for possible service in the Pacific. The groups flew B-24, B-17, and B-29 bombers. The rapid influx of construction workers and military personnel needed to build and operate the field brought housing shortages, as well as an economic boost, to Fairmont and other nearby communities. Area residents welcomed the servicemen and tried to make their stay more pleasant, often inviting the soldiers into their homes. Some servicemen met their future wives while at Fairmont, and returned here after the war to raise their families. Fairmont Army Air Field was deactivated in October 1945 and declared surplus in the spring of 1946. Part of the field is now operated as the Fairmont State Airfield. Fillmore County Historical Society 451st Bombardment Group (H) Ltd. Robert M. Karstensen Sr. Pres. Nebraska State Historical Society

Where it stands

More markers nearby

• Fairmont Creamery Company — 1.4 mi
• Fairmont Army Air Field — 3.4 mi
• 1879 Exeter 1979 — 5.7 mi
• 1871 Fillmore County 1971 — 8.1 mi