It was planned as a satellite of Topeka Army Airfield, a Second Air Force installation which was situated some 70 miles to the northeast and which served as the headquarters for the 21st Bombardment Wing.

Runways and apron (500 x 4,750 feet) were constructed with a ten-inch gravel base placed in layers on a six-inch compacted earth subbase, and surfaced with one and one-half-inch asphalt cement; the service strip (80 feet wide) was a six-inch concrete slab, thickened to nine inches at the expansion and construction joints.

The station contained about 100 buildings, electric transmission lines, and all the other things one could expect to find in a town of 2,500 people.

On 26 January 1943, Major Painter formally assumed command of Herington Army Airfield and appointed an adjutant, a provost marshal, a post engineer, a quartermaster(Capt.

The peak in the strength of the permanent party military personnel was reached in August 1944, with totals of 113 officers and 2,123 enlisted men and women.

This processing of heavy bombardment crews and equipment, sometimes called staging and also preparation for overseas movements, proved to be the principal function of Herington Army Airfield.

Spread out over a period of approximately five days, the schedule involved the performance of the following functions on all such crews and aircraft which were temporarily assigned to the field: For the first 11 months of the active program, Herington was primarily a B-24 Liberator staging field, with a few B-17 Flying Fortress crews and aircraft being assigned there for processing.

By working around the clock during rush periods, the 274th AAF Base Unit at Herington was able to process an average of nine combat crews a day.

On 18 July following Herington Army Airfield and the entire 21st Bombardment Wing were placed under the direct supervision of Headquarters, Continental Air Forces.

After disposal had been made of all remaining property and a final audit had been made, jurisdiction over Herington Army Airfield was transferred to the Army's District Engineer, Seventh Service Command at Omaha, Nebraska who assumed jurisdiction over the field on 19 March 1947, pending disposition.

The War Assets Administration eventually turned the air base over to local government officials.

Chaplains John H. Eastwood and Emil Kapaun were both stationed at Herington Air Base for a period of time.