Edward H. White II Memorial Hangar Brooks Air Force Base - Texas Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

The old Hangar 9 is an aircraft hanger built in 1918 to house the Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" airplanes used in World War ! and thereafter. The Hangar 9 was one of about 30 airplane hangars originally built on Brooks AFB and on Kelly AFB. Now, nearly 100 years later, only Hangar 9 remains.

LtCol. White was the second generation of White's to have an attachment with Hangar 9. His father, Major General Edward H. White, was taught to fly airplanes when Hangar 9 was used to instruct WW1 pilots. Later, LtCol White would also learn to fly not only airplanes, but also space ships. White was the first man to walk in space when he went outside his spacecraft while in orbit above Earth on June 3, 1965. Unfortunately, White died with other astronauts in a capsule fire while preparing for a launch on the first Apollo spacecraft.

Although Brooks AFB is no longer an active military base, the US Air Force still owns the land. The Air Force and the City of San Antonio coordinated a master plan to repurpose the facilities and property of this decommissioned base to use for industry, research, technology and other commercial usage. Lets hope Hangar 9 remains and continues being used as a military museum.

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Marker Number: 1398 Marker Text: Dedicated June 3, 1970 Astronaut Lieutenant Colonel Edward H. White II (born at Fort Sam Houston, Nov. 14, 1930) was the first American to walk in space, while tethered to his Gemini spacecraft on June 3, 1965. Along with two companions, he died on Jan. 27, 1967, in a flash fire at the launch site while in training for the first moon flight aboard an Apollo spacecraft. The astronauts' flight heritage is tied closely to the pioneer flying schools of San Antonio. The father of Astronaut White, Major General Edward H. White, learned to fly here at Hangar 9, as did Charles A. Lindbergh and many other pioneers. Hangar 9, one of over 30 of its type at Kelly and Brooks Fields, was the standard hangar used by the U.S. Army Signal Corps to house the Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" at flying schools during World War I. Brooks Field was named for San Antonio native Sidney J. Brooks, killed at Kelly Field, Nov. 13, 1917. Construction on Brooks Field began Dec. 11, 1917. Colonel H. Conger Pratt was the first commander. Long a primary school for heavier-than-than air craft, it has been used for many pioneer roles, including development of aerospace medicine. (1970)

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Date Logged Log   10/12/2014 WayBetterFinder visited it