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NAS Jax Marks 75th Anniversary

September 22, 2015 - 2:00pm

In recognition of the 75th anniversary of Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jax), U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., who sits on the U.S. House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, included the following in the Congressional Record on Tuesday:

I rise today to recognize the 75th anniversary of Naval Air Station Jacksonville, one of the United States Navy’s pivotal bases. For Jacksonville citizens, this anniversary brings back a flood of memories. Many began their journeys here as young sailors ready to go to sea. They enlisted and scattered far and wide. Now, years later, many of these same sailors will commemorate this important base. For these sailors their sea anchor is right here in this military friendly town.

In 1938, before there was an NAS Jax – as we lovingly call the base – there were citizens who lobbied the Hepburn Board as it searched for a new naval base in the Southeast. The citizens voted to support bonds to purchase the property and construction began in 1939.

The base was commissioned on Oct. 15, 1940, with Captain Charles P. Mason serving as its first commanding officer. Walt Disney drew a logo for the new base depicting Donald Duck in flight gear and sporting gold wings emerging from an egg as NAS Jacksonville was given birth.  

As America entered World War II, construction and the pace of training increased at NAS Jax. Soon, there were three runways operating as well as seaplane ramps. An overhaul and repair facility was begun to rework the station’s planes. Today, that facility is called the Fleet Readiness Center Southeast, and they still inhabit some of the original buildings from the 1940s.  

By 1949, NAS Jax was the plane capital of the East Coast and handled 60 percent of the fleet’s air striking force in the Atlantic area from pole to pole. As the Navy led the dawning of the jet age, the first jet carrier air groups and squadrons came to Jacksonville. So it was only natural that the Navy’s first Flight Demonstration Team – later known as the Blue Angels – got its start at NAS Jax. Fleet Air Wing 11, now the Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 11, relocated to the station followed in the 1970s by Helicopter Antisubmarine Wing, U.S. Atlantic, and its squadrons.  

Over the ensuing decades, NAS Jax supported the Navy’s efforts during wartime and peace. Its pilots and planes flew in combat and training. Planes and other airframes were retired and new ones put into the inventory. As with other bases, buildings were added, old buildings were renovated, and personnel came and went.

Today, the runways are being totally rebuilt. The new airframe is heavier and larger than its predecessor and after 75 years of service, those original runways are being recycled. In a way, today’s pilots will still be taking off and landing on the history of those who went before them.  

NAS Jax is a recent two-time winner of the Commander in Chief's Naval Installations Command Excellence Award and is home to the newest manned and unmanned systems that Naval Aviation has in its inventory.  

The Navy has led in advancing innovation because the Navy must ensure our maritime supremacy and national security. NAS Jax has for 75 years been the face of that strength in Northeast Florida. Our citizens hear the sounds of freedom in support of our Nation’s defense. NAS Jax has been a constant in my life and in the lives of all in Jacksonville. The greatness of this premier base is woven into the memories of all who have shared in the pride of having NAS Jax within our city limits.  

I salute the 75th anniversary of Naval Air Station Jacksonville, which continues to be a major employer and economic stimulator, but more importantly, its personnel continues to contribute through their hard work and dedication to the important missions of our nation’s defense.

U.S. Rep. Ander Crenshaw, R-Fla., has represented the First Coast and parts of Northeast Florida in Congress since first being elected in 2000. 

Comments

That was a great and reminiscent article, for sure. My Dad was at NAS Jax for the commissioning as a Chief petty Officer in 1940. Dad had already served a "lifetime" in the Nav by 1940. In 1945, we lived in Dewey Park, Navy housing, across US 17, across the cow pasture, at the obscure railroad settlement of Yukon. Dad retired in 1946 and my folks bought a home North up US17 near Saint Johns Ave. Dad landed a job with the Navy department at NAS Jax and worked another lifetime there. I grew up hitch hiking to NAS Jax for the swimming pools, gyms, and recreational activities. We loved to watch the airplanes launch and land. We knew every plane type and model. What fun and educational all that was. As an adult, I was aircrew in a P2V patrol squadron at NAS Jax. We tracked commercial ships, Russian fishing trawlers, and submarines around the Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico. I saw and participated in a lotta different stuff at a lotta different and interesting places. It was a marvelous time to grow up and NAS Jax added flavor to my life. Happy Birthday NAS Jax!

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