The first tangible move to implement the decision to locate an Army Air Corps four-engine pilot school on a site selected one mile west of Liberal in western Kansas, was the grant of a contract to Murray A. Wilson and Company, engineers, to make a complete survey and layout for an airfield.

But even before the survey had been officially finished, contracts were let on 9 January, with Peter Kiewit Sons named as prime contractor.

In addition, 3.3 acres on the north extremity of the north-south runway were leased to provide zone clearance space.

In the midst of construction, personnel acquisition moved into an intensified phase during April and May, so that the base was actively manned by the time the first B-24s to be used in training set down on the brand new runways on 20 June.

George McGovern, later a senator and candidate for President of the United States, trained as a B-24 pilot at Liberal.

[1] On 1 May 1944 all the separate units on the field were disbanded except for the 744th AAF Band, the Airways Communications Squadron, and the Base Weather Section.

B-24 Liberators were obsolete as the postwar Air Force would retain the Boeing B-29 Superfortress as its long-range strategic bomber.

Liberal field was placed at that time on a standby status, which meant maintaining it in such condition as would make possible reactivation within thirty days.

All remaining personnel, except officers and enlisted men scheduled to form the standby cadre, were put on movement orders on 29 September.

During its 27 months of actual training, Liberal Army Air Field graduated 4,468 four-engine airplane commanders.

The base station has been totally redeveloped into a light industrial park, university campus and recreation fields.

This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency