Birth of a Base - MacDill Field
1939 - 1941
by
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HISTORICAL DATA SUPPLIED BY COLONEL LLOYD BARNETT I got my first view of what was to be MacDill Field in the month of December, 1939 -- at which time I was on leave of absence in Florida, which leave I was spending at St. Petersburg Beach. Having known and served with Major Leslie MacDill in 1918, in France, and hoping to be transferred to MacDill field for duty, I was keenly interested in the establishment of this, the first of the group of new bases to be set up in the long delayed expansion of the Air Corps. The approach to the site of the new base was via what is now MacDill Avenue - then a narrow sand road. My car got stuck in the sand and the last three hundred or so yards leading up to what is now the MacDill Avenue Gate was negotiated by man-power (a group of WPA workers pushing my car this last part of the trip). From the gate one could see only a vast sweep of scrub pine trees, palmetto growth, and, toward the bay front, low swampy ground. The trees had been felled along the proposed runways, and thru the trees toward the water front could be seen the skeleton frame work of one and two story administration and barrack buildings rising form the sandy swamps. To the layman this would have appeared to be an impossible site for the development of an Air Base. But, having pioneered in early 1917 in the settling and building of Camp Kelly (now Kelly field) Texas, I was not dismayed at the prospects facing those pioneers of MacDill field. In order to be as free as possible from surrounding high obstacles o the approach for landings and the take-off of planes it is always necessary to obtain land for such bases on the outskirts of cities, or at much further distances from them. And, as is always the case in Government purchases, the cost of obtaining the necessary land must be considered.
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About the Book
I invite you to travel back in time in your mind’s eye to 1939-1941, to a time where one of today’s most important Air Force Base in the world was a barren waste land, filled with rattlesnakes and trees. Travel back to a time where nothing was wasted, and everything was used. Encounter Air Power figures that have rightfully left their mark in history, such as General Henry H. Arnold, and the role he played in the making of this base, and General Clarence Tinker’s command, and fate during WWII. I hope and trust you will find this as fascinating as I did when I first looked through the pages of a history report in the form of a simple typewritten booklet.
About the Author
Blaze Lipowski was born and raised in historic Valley City, Ohio. When he was 12 years old, his parents moved to another historic town called Hinckley, Ohio. Blaze lived in Hinckley until joining the Air Force in 1989, where he was chosen to become a still photographic specialist, which he did for his 20 year career. His last two years were spent at MacDill AFB, in Florida, where he retired from the Air Force. After retiring from the Air Force, Blaze moved to Columbia, South Carolina, but was not there long before a job opportunity brought him to Cheyenne, Wyoming, a year later. He promises his wife and kids there are no more moves in his future. Blaze is married to Linda, his wife of 11 years, and they have three wonderful children: twin boys, Nikolas and Andrew, and daughter, Ember.