This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
The U.S. military employs professional historians such as Hill Air Force Base's Aaron Clark for good reason. Lessons from the past often help make a better future.
"It benefits the Air Force to see how things have been done and how they are being done," said Clark as he sat in a large room filled with stacks of files in one of the hundreds of buildings on the sprawling Hill complex. "It is there as a tool to show us where we have been and what has worked and hasn't worked."
I recently met Clark and Hill public affairs specialist Rich Essary with the idea of looking back at Hill's history. With 24,621 employees, the facility is easily Utah's largest single employer.
When Congress, the President and the Department of Defense begin talking about budget cuts, especially during election years, preserving Hill is always big topic for Utah politicians. Incumbents tout their power to keep the base from closing and challengers offer ways to keep it open.
Hill's roots date back to 1934, when successful operation of a temporary Air Corps depot in Salt Lake City to support airmail operations gave military and civilian leaders the idea of making a large base in northern Utah a reality. Support from the Ogden Chamber of Commerce, which even acquired 3,000 acres for the possible base, helped moved the idea along.
According to Air Force publications, Hill was promoted as a site for one of the Army Air Corps' new inland air depots in the run up to World War II because:
• The location offered good year-round flying weather.
• The climate was excellent for both aircraft maintenance and material storage.
• The base could be located near established rail and highway transportation centers.
• There was adequate land, water, power and manpower in the area.
• It was in a strategic inland location that would be available should the enemy, in this case Japan, attack facilities closer to the West Coast.
The fact that the Great Depression left 20 percent of Utah's population receiving federal relief showed a need for a project to put people to work.
"The first mission was as the Ogden Arsenal," said Clark. "It served as a munition stockpile after World War I. It was first a supply and maintenance facility. Morris Burman, the first commander, started from the ground up in making Hill the war machine it would become. He had to hire on folks during the war years. He knew they needed a bigger civilian population for recruiting efforts, not just in Utah but outside of Utah."
The facility was named after Maj. Ployer Hill, one of the first military aviators in America, who died during a test flight of the plane that would become the famous B-17 Flying Fortress in Ohio in 1935. The name changed from Hill Field to Hill Air Force Base in 1946.
At the height of World War II, the number of employees at Hill would grow to more than 20,000. When the war started, the base operated 24 hours a day, with three shifts a day. As the war began to wind down, Hill also became a place for long-term aircraft storage. These planes, mostly B-26 and B-29 aircraft, were rapidly returned to combat readiness for deployment to Korea.
The base doubled in size in 1955, when the U.S. Army Ogden Arsenal was transferred to the Air Force and became what is now the base's West Area, with more than 600 buildings.
These days, Hill is known as the home of the 388th Fighter Wing that came to the base in 1975, shortly after the end of the Vietnam War. After flying F-4s, the unit became the first F-16-equipped fighter wing in 1978. The close proximity of the Utah Test and Training Range west of the Great Salt Lake is an ideal complement to Hill AFB.
Clark said one of the most unique parts of Hill's history is the support it has always received from nearby communities, dating back to its roots in the 1930s.
"The whole community gave it everything it had to make it work," he said. "It has supported the nation and its war efforts for the past 70 years."
Twitter@tribtomwharton Hill Air Force Base timeline
1920 • Army Ordnance Department obtains land in the area to store ordance left over after World War II. It is named the Ogden Arsenal.
Late 1930s • Before World War II, representatives from the Ogden Chamber of Commerce and most of Utah's Congressional delegation promote the advantage of locating an air depot in Ogden area.
1939 • Military Appropriations Bill for Fiscal Year 1940 passes Congress, including $8 million for construction of air depot near Ogden.
Jan. 12, 1940 • Official grand braking ceremonies for construction of permanent facilities on Hill Field.
Early 1940s • Depot strength grew to a World War II peak of over 20,000, including 15,780 civilians and roughly 6,000 military personnel. Depot becomes known for repair and supply for aircraft such as B-17, B-24, B-26, P-40, P-47, A-20 and the AT-11. Workers also help with Manhattan project at nearby Wendover Range area.
After World War II • Hundreds of B-26 and B-29 aircraft, stored at Hill AFB, are rapidly returned to combat readiness for deployment to the Korean War.
1946 • The Ogden Air Depot becomes the Ogden Air Material Area in 19467, succeeded by the Ogden Air Logistics Center in 1974.
Feb. 5, 1948 • Hill Field becomes Hill Air Force Base.
April 1, 1955 • Hill AFB's acreage doubles in size, when the Department of Defense transferred the adjacent U.S. Army Ogden Arsenal to the Air Force. This is now the West Area of Hill AFB. The new acreage added more than 600 buildings and structures.
Between 1959 and 1982 • the base took on the ICBM, F-4, F-16 and C-130 workloads.
1975 • Shortly after the end of the Vietnam war, HILL AFB welcomes a new tenant unit, the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing. After flying the f-4 for three years on Hill, the unit received word that it would be the first F-16-equipped tactical fighter wing. This unit, now known as the 388th Fighter Wing, is still located at Hill.
Source: Hill Air Force Base historian Aaron Clark