Baer, a sixteen victory Flying ace, flew with the Lafayette Escadrille and the 103d Aero Squadron American Expeditionary Force Air Service during World War I.

Bear was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, the Legion of Honor, and the French Croix de Guerre.

Baer continued to fly after the war, opening air mail routes in South America, and participating in many aviation experiments.

Baer was killed on 9 December 1930 in a Loening C-2-H amphibian while flying mail and passengers for Chinese Airway Federal, Inc.

The citizens of Fort Wayne wanted the base, and the city took options to buy 700 acres for that purpose should the War Department decide to build a field there.

Early in January 1941 the War Department told the town it would locate a base there if possession of the land could be had by February 1.

The airfield consisted of three concrete runways with bituminous shoulders, 6230x148 (NE/SW), 6300x148 (NW/SE), 6000x175 (N/S) including three large parking ramps, several hangars, a control tower and other auxiliary support aircraft buildings.

[2][5] The major part of the original building project was finished by July 1941, about 150 days after the lease for the land was signed by the War Department.

The major responsibility of the First Air Force was the organization and training of bomber, fighter and other units and crews for assignment overseas.

By June they had deployed to England as part of VIII Fighter Command where they would be equipped with Supermarine Spitfires They entered combat in August 1942.

The group deployed to England in December 1942 and later transferred to the Twelfth Air Force in North Africa.

[2] By September 1942 the runways were again open, and III Bomber Command used Baer Field as a Martin B-26 Marauder medium bombardment group staging and processing facility.

The mission of I TCC was to train Curtiss C-46 Commando and Douglas C-47 Skytrain troop carrier groups in preparation for overseas deployment.

Beginning in 1944, Baer repaired and refurbished "war weary" aircraft which were returned from their combat assignments and were overhauled and inspected.

With the end of the European War, the base now became an assembly station for redeployment of personnel from Europe to the Pacific Theater.

Aircraft staging activities were no longer conducted at the base, however it remained under the jurisdiction of I Troop Carrier Command.

[2][4] Throughout the summer of 1945 many Troop Carrier Groups, which had been equipped and trained at Baer returned to the base from their overseas assignments where they were demobilized and the aircraft were ferried to storage depots in the southwest.

On 15 December 1946 the 439th Army Air Forces Base Unit (Reserve Training) was activated, replacing the 333d AAFBU, by which consisted of three officers and no enlisted men.

The 439th AAFBU's activities consisted of screening, packing and shipping records to appropriate archive depots and furnishing information and assistance to auditors.

[6][7] The 122d Fighter Group was inactive until 1 February 1951 the unit was activated and federalized due to the Korean War, and assigned to Air Defense Command.

Two squadrons, the 113th and 163d were assigned and the organization was re designated as the 122d Fighter Interceptor Group, being stationed at Stout Field, Indiana.

[8][4][7] On 1 November 1952 the unit was reorganized and transferred to Tactical Air Command control, being re designated as the 122d Fighter-Bomber Group and equipped with the Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star in September 1954.

The jet era continued with the conversion to the F-86 Sabre eighteen months later, and in January 1958, the Republic F-84 Thunderstreak gave the 122 TFW a new dimension for the next thirteen years.

As a result of BRAC 2005, the unit converted to the A-10 Thunderbolt II aircraft and a close air support (CAS) mission, said conversion having been completed in 2010.

[10] In 2023, it was announced through the National Defense Authorization Act, that the 122nd FW would convert back to the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon.

[11] Nicknamed the "Blacksnakes," the 122d Fighter Wing today is operationally gained by the Air Combat Command (ACC).

The 122 FW operates from Fort Wayne Air National Guard Base, which is located on the east side of the airport in a secure area away from the publicly accessible facilities.

[8] The 122d FW is available on orders from the Governor of Indiana to assist local authorities in the event of a disaster, disturbance or other emergency.

The units of the 122d FW are capable of supporting rescue and relief operations, aiding in recovery from natural disaster, along with protecting the citizens of Indiana and their property.