Anticipation - Tuskegee, AL
Posted by: 
xptwo
N 32° 27.465 W 085° 40.974
16S E 623789 N 3591939
Located near the guard house and entrance gate to Moton Field in World War II, this sign tells visitors about the first sight awaiting the cadets who were beginning the road to becoming the famed World War II Tuskegee Airmen.
Waymark Code: WMHEKY
Location: Alabama, United States
Date Posted: 07/01/2013
Views: 3
The Tuskegee Airmen National Historic Site has information signs around Moton Field, each one giving visitors some information or aspect of what happened in that part of the field. This sign is located a distance from Hangar No. 1 on what would have been the road leading to the entrance in the early 1940s. It is located on a path down the hill from the original Park Service Office and parking area before the move into Hangar No. 1. The old gate house is represented by one of the NPS "ghost structures" which give the outline of buildings that cannot be recreated.
As far as Moton Field itself as a whole is concerned, this was the place where primary flight instruction was done. More advanced training was done at other fields, which no longer exist, located in other areas of Macon County. Moton Field is now the city airport as well as a National Park Service historical site.
On the top left of the information sign are the following words:
"Anticipation
During World War II a guard house stood just outside the brick entrance gates to Moton field. The framed structure closest to you is a representation of the guard house. The historic entrance gates are just beyond. How excited the young cadet must have been the first time he passed the guard house and entered Moton Field."
On the top right is a personal comment: "Primary flight training. The anticipation was like nothing I'd ever experienced in my life. All my boyhood dreams of flying...came together.... My goal was to get in that plane and learn how to fly it. Dr. Robert F. Bowers, 2001"
On the bottom left is a photo of a guard and the following caption: "Security was important at Moton Field, which had a small guard force to screen access to the site and to police activities. With eligible men training for combat, women had opportunities to assist with the war effort. One of them, Carrie Campbell, is shown here checking a vehicle as it enters the field."
On the bottom right is the main photo caption: "This was a typical scene after 1943. Guards checked vehicles entering and leaving the field."
Group that erected the marker: National Park Service
URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link]
Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary:
1616 Chappie James Avenue
Tuskegee, AL USA
36083
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