Bruce Thun, son of John Thun who developed the airport and for whom it was named, looks to the site where the plaque honoring his father is located. Bruce is operations manager for the Pierce County owned facility and he introduced many family members during the ceremony Sept. 18
The airport may be officially named Pierce County Airport but to anyone who has ever been around the airport it is Thun Field and Friday, Sept. 18, Pierce County dedicated a plaque to the man, John Thun, who built the airport on Puyallup’s South Hill and ran it for about 20 years before selling it to Pierce County.
A crowd of about 300 friends and many family members turned out on a beautiful sunny day to see the plaque honoring Thun be unveiled. It is located on a grassy area just south of the house in which Thun and his wife Babe, who attended the event, raised their family. They also operated the airport from the house. The grassy area now holding a flagpole and the plaque at one point held a cafe that they erected and which Babe ran. It was, the community center of its day and where, according to Bruce Thun, airport operations manager for the county, the local CAP and EAA chapters and many other groups were formed.
The airport originally opened in 1944 and Thun acquired the property in 1949. Today, businesses located on the airport employ about 300 people, Clover Park Technical College operates its maintenance and flight schools on the east side and plans are underway to develop more operations on the east side on land acquired by the county. According to County officials, the airport produces a $20 million economic benefit to the area.
Numerous antique and home built aircraft were flown in for the celebration, including a recently completed DC3. Photos from the airport’s earliest days were displayed inside the house.
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- Thun Field looked a great deal differently when this photo was taken about 50 years ago.
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- Plaque
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- A plaque recognizing John Thun for his efforts to establish and operate the airport that many still recognize as Thun Field was unveiled Friday, Sept. 18 at the base of a flagpole. The site is the original home of a cafe operated by Thun and his wife Babe
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- Bruce Thun, son of John Thun who developed the airport and for whom it was named, looks to the site where the plaque honoring his father is located. Bruce is operations manager for the Pierce County owned facility and he introduced many family members during the ceremony Sept. 18
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- Newly restored DC3 is flanked by a pair of antique planes during a ceremony at Thun Field, officially known as Pierce County Airport. The airport was started 65 years ago by Thun.
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- With the DC3 in the background, musicians, grandsons of John Thun, entertain attendees at the Thun Field 65th anniversary event.
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