Horry County · Marker 26-19
Myrtle Beach Army Air Field
U.S. Hwy. 17 & U.S. Hwy. 17 Bypass, Myrtle Beach
Front inscription
Myrtle Beach Army Air Field operated here 1940-47 and grew out of city plans to expand the municipal airport from two grass landing strips to a more permanent facility. In 1940-41 the U.S. Army Air Corps trained civilian pilots for the Civil Air Service; the War Department acquired the airport in late 1941. Observation squadrons, an aviation squadron, and a fighter squadron trained here during World War II.
Myrtle Beach Air Force Base
Deactivated in 1947, the field became a municipal airport again but was donated by the city to the U.S. Air Force as an active air base in 1954. The 354th Fighter Day Wing/Tactical Fighter Wing, based here 1956-1993, deployed squadrons in Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East, with major service in Lebanon, Germany, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf. The base closed in 1993.