Hamilton was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for "extraordinary heroism in action" in Varsenare, Belgium, where he led a low level bombing attack on a German airdrome 30 miles (50 km) behind enemy lines on 13 August 1918.

The original construction program was completed on 12 May 1935, at which time the field was ceremonially handed over to Brigadier General Henry 'Hap' Arnold, commanding the 1st Wing, by Governor Frank Merriam of California.

The B-18 was a standard two-engine short-range bomber, and was capable of airlifting combat-equipped troops en masse, an important advance in combat techniques at the time.

Hamilton became a fighter base under the USAAC Air Force Combat Command in December 1940, becoming the home of the 9th, 10th and 11th Pursuit Wings.

The B-17s had arrived over Oahu during the Japanese air attack on Hawaii which triggered American entry into World War II.

Six of them arrived in Hawaii just after the Pearl Harbor attack, but the rest of them were ordered to remain in California and were sent south to Muroc AAF near Rosamond.

Strategic Air Command also assigned several reserve reconnaissance groups to Hamilton in the late 1940s, flying photographic missions with RB-29 Superfortresses.

The initial Air Defense Command major unit at Hamilton was the 325th Fighter Group which was reassigned from Mitchel AAF, New York on 9 April 1947.

In the immediate postwar years, the Black Widow was pressed into service as an air defense interceptor in response to the USAAF's problems in developing a useful jet-powered night/all-weather fighter.

The unit was transferred on 27 June 1948, to Moses Lake AFB, Washington for the purpose of defending the Hanford Nuclear site.

During World War II, the 78th Fighter Group trained at Hamilton with P-38 Lightnings in 1942 and served as part of its air defense organization.

There were not enough trained pilots and radar operators, and there were not enough maintenance personnel who knew the intricacies of the complex and troublesome Hughes E-1 fire control system.

Units of the 566th ADG at Hamilton were: When the 78th FIW was inactivated, the 82d FIS was transferred to the 4703d Defense Wing at Larson AFB, Washington.

The 496th FIS was activated on 20 March 1953, as a fighter-interceptor squadron at Hamilton as part of the west coast air defense forces.

On 18 August 1955, the 78th Fighter Group (Air Defense) was reactivated at Hamilton under the 28th AD with the 83d and 84th Fighter-Interceptor Squadrons flying F-86D Sabres.

The Lockheed F-104A had originally been scheduled to replace the North American F-100 Super Sabres of the Tactical Air Command beginning in 1956.

The Starfighter's relatively low endurance and its lack of ability to carry a significant offensive weapons load made it no longer suitable for TAC.

The selection of the F-104A for the ADC was sort of curious, since it had not been originally designed as an interceptor and it lacked an adequate endurance and had no all-weather capability.

In October 1958, twelve F-104As of the 83rd FIS were crated and airlifted by C-124 transport to Taiwan, where they served temporarily with the Republic of China Air Force during the Quemoy crisis.

Its low range was a problem for North American air defense, and its lack of all-weather capability made it incapable of operating in conjunction with the SAGE (Semi-Automatic Ground Environment) system.

On 30 September 1968, the 498th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron was transferred to Hamilton from the closing Paine AFB, Washington and was inactivated, with its F-106s being reassigned to the 84th FIS.

As the Vietnam War wound down, Headquarters Tactical Air Command was directed to preserve the lineage of many units which had command-controlled designations that gave them no history or traditions.

HQ ADC transferred the 1st FW without personnel or equipment to TAC on 1 October 1970 to replace and absorb all assets of the 15th Tactical Fighter Wing at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.

With the transfer of the 1st FW, the 84th FIS continued to operate at Hamilton until 30 August 1973 directly under the Aerospace Defense Commands 26th Air Division.

As a tactical fighter-bomber wing, the 349th flew the North American F-51 Mustang (1952–1954), Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star (1952–1956), and the Republic F-84 Thunderstreak (1956–1957).

The 349th, like the other reserve troop carrier wings, was completely equipped and ready to move with only a few hours notice as was the case during the Cuban call-up.

As a result of the base closure decision regarding Hamilton, the 452 TAW transferred back to March AFB in 1976 for redesignation as the 452nd Air Refueling Wing (452 ARW) and transition to the KC-135E Stratotanker.

The 452d TAW operated at a low level of activity until 11 January 1976, when an agreement was finally reached to close Hamilton as part of the post-Vietnam War drawdown of the military.

As a consequence of BRAC 1993's closure decisions regarding all of the U.S. Navy's San Francisco area bases (NAS Alameda, NAS Moffett Field, Mare Island Naval Shipyard, NAVSTA Treasure Island, Hunter's Point Naval Shipyard), the Navy vacated its Hamilton housing in 1996.

The U.S. Coast Guard currently owns 282 Spanish-style duplexes and homes; these units were part of the old Hamilton Air Force Base housing.