Pope Air Force Base, Marker I-82
Posted by: 
showbizkid
N 35° 11.532 W 078° 59.171
17S E 683346 N 3896215
This marker commemorates nearby Pope Air Force Base, formerly Pope Field at Fort Bragg.
Waymark Code: WMEYA
Location: North Carolina, United States
Date Posted: 06/15/2006
Views: 66
In 1918, bi-planes and observation balloons began using a pea field north of the newly established Army artillery training post at Camp Bragg in 1918 as a landing strip.
Meanwhile, Lt. Harley Halbert Pope was killed in an airplane crash in January 1918 near the Cape Fear River, north of Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Members of Pope's squadron, the 276th Aero Squadron, received movement orders to Camp Bragg Flying Field in February 1919. As a memorial to Pope, the War Department officially established the field at Camp Bragg as Pope Field on 5 April 1919. A runway did not exist, just a wide open field surrounded by a pine forest.
Pope Field became an Air Force Base with the creation of the United States Air Force on September 17, 1947.
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Visit Instructions:Photos of your visit to the marker are required, but PLEASE, no old vacation photos taken just because it was there!
Comments about your visit, interesting nearby areas and any significant information you may have on this waymark are encouraged.
Most of all, enjoy the History that North Carolina has to offer! From the Mountains to the Ocean .. it's all here!