Grissom Air Reserve Base

Grissom Air Reserve Base is a United States Air Force base, located about north of Kokomo in Cass and Miami counties in Indiana. The facility was established as a U.S. Navy installation, Naval Air Station Bunker Hill, in 1942 and was an active Air Force installation, Bunker Hill Air Force Base from 1954 to 1968, and Grissom Air Force Base from 1968 to 1994. Pursuant to a BRAC 1991 decision, the installation was downsized to an Air Force Reserve installation and renamed Grissom Air Reserve Base.
Since then it has been a joint-use civil airport/military base. Approximately 1700 acres plus the runway and taxiways comprise the current military installation, with the Grissom Aeroplex comprising the civilian aviation activities providing general aviation and charter service.
Originally named Bunker Hill Air Force Base, the base was renamed Grissom Air Force Base in 1968 in memory of astronaut and Indiana native Lieutenant Colonel Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, USAF, who, along with fellow astronauts Lieutenant Colonel Ed White, USAF, and Lieutenant Commander Roger Chaffee, USN, perished in the Apollo 1 fire at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Launch Complex 34 on 27 January 1967.
It is home to the largest KC-135R Stratotanker wing in the Air Force Reserve Command, plus units from the United States Army Reserve and also the US Marine Corps Reserve. The host unit is the 434th Air Refueling Wing, the "Hoosier Wing", which consists of three major groups and a variety of squadrons and flights. The wing develops and maintains the operational capability of its units and trains reservists for worldwide duty, with the wing operationally-gained by the Air Mobility Command. Training consists of flight operations, deployments, and weekday and weekend training.
Other organizations located at Grissom ARB include the U.S. Army Reserve's Company A, 1st Battalion, 330th Regiment; 316th Psychological Operations Company ; Detachment 1, 855th Quartermaster Company; the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's Marine Corps Reserve Center Grissom and Detachment 1, Communications Company, 4th Marine Logistics Group.

History

Background

On 18 March 1942, the Bureau of Yards and Docks sent out a letter to the Judge Advocate General of the Navy, Rear Admiral Walter Browne Woodson, for the acquisition of land near Peru, Indiana, with the intention of constructing a Naval Reserve Aviation Base. The following day, the Shore Station Development Board sent a letter of recommendation to the US Secretary of the Navy, Frank Knox, estimating the cost of the project, including land acquisition, at $7,000,000. On 21 March 1942, the Chief of Naval Operations, Fleet Admiral Ernest King, concurred with BuDocks and also sent a letter to SECNAV. Secretary Knox sent a letter the same day to JAG Woodson approving the base.
On 27 March 1942, Russell B. Moore Company, Indianapolis, Indiana, signed contract NOy-5485, for the architectural and engineering services for Naval Reserve Aviation Base at Peru, Indiana. Two other firms had been considered; Walter W. Ahlschlager & Associates, Chicago, Illinois, and Phelps & Peck, Michigan City, Indiana.
On 3 April 1942, contract NOy-5475, for the construction of a Naval Reserve Aviation Base at Peru, Indiana, with Captain R.D. Spalding, USN, the Officer-in-Charge, was sent out. The contract included Projects 1 to 47, with a fee of $4,965,500. Changes "A" through "M", were added over the next several months, adding Projects 48 to 77, and 501, and on 19 November 1942, Purchase Order 4057 authorized Projects 78 to 87, with manual instruction authorizing Project 88.
Four contractors were considered for the project; James T. Barnes Construction Company, Logansport, Indiana; Sollitt Construction Company, Inc., South Bend; William P Jungclaus Company, Indianapolis; and a joint venture between J.L. Simmons Company, Inc., Indianapolis, and United Construction Company, Winona, Minnesota. The bid was given to J.L. Simmons Company, Inc. and United Construction Company, and signed on 16 April 1942.

Project No.	Name of project	Project No.	Name of project	Project No.	Name of project	Project No.	Name of project
1	Development of Landing Field	24	Armory	47	Bachelor Officers' Quarters	70*	Outlying Field No. 21; Clearing, Grading, Drainage, Sodding and relocating of fences.
2	Runways, Bituminous Surface, and Landing Mat.	25	Athletic Field	48	Link Trainer Building	71*	Outlying Field No. 22; Clearing, Grading, Drainage, Sodding and relocating of fences.
3	Landing Field Lighting..	26	Drill Field	49	Officers' Quarters Commanding Officer and Executive Officer	27	Rifle and Machine Gun Range	50	Building to house Engine Test Stands	73*	Outlying Field No. 20; Clearing, Grading, Drainage, Sodding and relocating of fences.
5	Barracks	28	Magazine	51	Increase of Dispensary to 109 bed capacity	74	Public Works Building
6	Mess Hall	29	Gasoline Storage and Distribution and Truck Loading Stand.	52	Outlying Field No. 1; Clearing, Grading, Drainage, Sodding	75	Purchase of 2 Refrigerators for Commanding Officers' and Executive Officers' Quarters
7	Subsistence Building	30	Fuel Oil Storage	53	Outlying Field No. 2; Clearing, Grading, Drainage, Sodding	76	Construction of Water Well
8	Bachelor Officers' Quarters 160 officers.	31	Electrical Distribution System	54	Outlying Field No. 3; Clearing, Grading, Drainage, Sodding	77	Outlying Field No. 3; Rock Stabilization of subgrade for Landing Mat
9	Auditorium and Recreation Building	32	Water and Fire Protection Systems	55	Outlying Field No. 4; Clearing, Grading, Drainage, Sodding	78†	Outlying Field No. 8; Rock Stabilization of subgrade for Landing Mat
10	Dispensary .	33	Inter-communication and Fire-crash Alarm Systems	56	Outlying Field No. 7; Clearing, Grading, Drainage, Sodding.	79†	Outlying Field No. 2; 2nd increment to Project 53
11	Instruction Buildings	34	Warming-up Platforms	57	Outlying Field No. 10; Clearing, Grading, Drainage, Sodding	80†	Outlying Field No. 4; 2nd increment to Project 55
12	Administration Building	35	Roads, Walks and Services	58	Outlying Field No. 8; Clearing, Grading, Drainage, Sodding	81†	Outlying Field No. 7; 2nd increment to Project 56
13	Squadron Administration Buildings	36	Sewerage System and Sewage Disposal	59	Outlying Field No. 12; Clearing, Grading, Drainage, Sodding	82†	Outlying Field No. 8; 2nd increment to Project 58
14	Operations Building	37	Steam Distribution System	60	Outlying Field No. 6; Clearing, Grading, Drainage, Sodding	83†	Outlying Field No. 12; 2nd increment to Project 59
15	Temporary Hangars	38	Drainage System	61	Outlying Field No. 11; Clearing, Grading, Drainage, Sodding	84†	Outlying Field No. 6; 2nd increment to Project 60
16	Assembly and Repair Ship	39	Standby Emergency Electrical Unit	62	Outlying Field No. 14; Clearing, Grading, Drainage, Sodding.	85†	Outlying Field No. 11; 2nd increment to Project 61
17	Paint and Dope Spray Booth	40	Engine Run-in Stands	63	Collateral Medical and Surgical Equipment for Dispensary	86†	Outlying Field No. 14; 2nd increment to Project 62
18	Garage, Station Maintenance Building and Firehouse	41	Parachute Building with Tower	64	Collateral Diet Kitchen Equipment for Dispensary	87†	Outlying Field No. 9; 2nd increment to Project 66
19	Heating Plant	42	Railroad Spur	65	Dispensary X-Ray and Viewing Equipment	88	Auditing Adjustment of Surplus Material, Equipment and Supplies Account
20	Storehouses with Platform	43	Swimming Pool	66	Outlying Field No. 9; Clearing, Grading, Drainage, Sodding.	501	Material purchased and shipped to Aircraft Delivery Unit, Port Columbus, Ohio
21	Storage Building, General and Aircraft,	44	Brig	67	Changing 4 Rnways to Concrete, and Landing Mat	*Note
22	Paint, Oil and Dope Storage Building	45	Miscellaneous Fixed Equipment	68	Drainage System	†Note
23	Gatehouse and Security Fence	46	Incinerator	69*	Outlying Field No. 24; Clearing, Grading, Drainage, Sodding and relocating of fences.

Construction

Preliminary plans for the base were issued 20 April 1942. The base was commissioned on 1 July 1942, with a contingent of Naval personnel moving in on 15 July 1942. Actual construction wasn't finished until 12 April 1943, with 99.5% field work completed. The final cost was $13,064,424.43.
The design called for a Naval Air Station, occupying, with the facilities and equipment to house and train 1,200 naval aviation cadets. This would include the housing and other necessary facilities needed for a total of 3,200 officers and men. Station facilities would include four runways of long and wide; a square landing mat with sides long ; taxiways, warm-up aprons, and approaches; 77 buildings with of floor space, water supply, heating; and sewage disposal plants; of paved streets and of sidewalks. The training facilities included 25 auxiliary fields, within a radius, with a combined area of.
Of the 2,158 acres, approximately were of dense timber that needed to be cleared. Other obstructions included, houses, barns, boulders, and county and state roads. The main base was, and still is, located approximately south of Peru, Indiana, on US Route 31; north of Kokomo; Logansport to the northwest; and Wabash 20 mi to the northeast. Indianapolis, Indiana's capitol, is south; Fort Wayne 64 mi northeast, South Bend north, and Chicago northwest.
The Site Selection Board selected this site because it was centrally located with ready accessibility from several large cities. The land is level for miles around, which afforded many possibilities for auxiliary fields. It was out of the flight routes of commercial airlines. The soil type was satisfactory with gravel being locally available for concrete. It could be serviced by the Pennsylvania Railroad, with a station only away and construction of a switch track easily possible; also paved highways and bus lines nearby. Electrical power available from Peru. Satisfactory climate conditions, as indicated by Weather Bureau Reports. Water treatment for the steam boilers seemed to be the only draw back.
Upon receiving the Letter of Intent on 28 March 1942, Russell B. Moore Company established a temporary headquarters and moved personnel and necessary drafting, surveying and office equipment and supplies to an old schoolhouse at Bunker Hill, which they occupied until completion of the Construction Engineering Office on the site 13 May 1942. Surveying the site started 1 April 1942. J.L. Simmons Company, Inc. and United Construction Company received their Letter of Intent 4 April 1942, and immediately began moving equipment in to clear the site, including removal of buildings, trees, and grading as soon as elevations for the finished grade had been determined. Temporary structures were built, including a cement warehouse, a large general warehouse,, time office, a large number of movable, built on skids for easy removal, tool storage sheds and small storehouses. All construction material was delivered by truck until the completion of the spur track on 10 June 1942, after which a large portion of the construction material came in by rail. Peak days of traffic volume were as follows: 129 freight carloads of paving material received via the spur track on 30 October 1942, and 1755 truck loads of paving material received on 25 October 1942.
In addition to the previously mentioned builds, a combined saw mill and carpenter shop was constructed, and equipped with wood working machinery. A temporary building was built and equipped as a restaurant, in which lunches were served to all persons on site at a moderate cost. A combination garage and repair shop was constructed and equipped to keep equipment in operating condition. A first aid building, staffed by two nurses was built. Night lighting, so paving operations could continue at night, was provided by electric floodlights. One large diesel powered permanent type generator with overhead distribution wiring, and several portable gasoline powered generators produced the electricity.
Many of the buildings utilized standard BuDocks plans and specifications for standard air station buildings. Specialized buildings were designed by the Moore Company. Most of the buildings were of a light, temporary type, designed to only be used for a limited time.
The safety record during construction was: one serious fire at Subsistence Building 26, 4,043 first aid cases, with 465 of those needing services of a physician. On the night of 3 August 1942, building 26 caught fire while it was about 90% complete, damage was estimated at 53% of its value.
Due to cost overruns, some of the projects were moved to contracts NOy 5938 and NOy 5958.