Wright-Patterson AFB
1927
Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of earth, and danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings...
-John Gillespie Magee
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base has led the nation throughout the evolution of U.S. military air superiority. When the original Wright Field was dedicated in 1927, it developed all aircraft and aeronautical equipment for the Army Air Corp [sic]. This work continued into World War II when U.S. air fleet capabilities vastly improved. For the 1991 Gulf War, navigation and targeting systems developed at Wright[-]Patterson allowed pilots to locate their targets in nighttime fog. Other advanced radar systems could identify detail on targets 30 miles away.
Possibly Wright[-]Patterson's most famous moment was one of peace. Because of its excellent airfield, security, logistical support, and lodging facilities, Wright-Patterson hosted the 1995 peace accords for the conflict in the Balkan nations. The talks lasted for 21 days and were so close to breaking down at one point that the Croatian president's jet sat on the ramp, loaded with its engines running. A breakthrough was reached, however, and the Dayton Peace Agreement, the General Framework Agreement for Peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was signed.
Courtesy hmdb.org
