Utah’s Wendover Airfield (KENV) has revealed a new exhibit celebrating an important stage in the preservation of the former World War II Army Air Corps and U.S. Air Force base.
Wendover, 120 miles west of Salt Lake City on Interstate 80, is home to the former training base that curators say is the most original remaining and authentically preserved Army Air Corps base in the United States. Today the former military base is a civilian airport with 10,000 and 8,000-foot runways.
The base museum’s newest exhibit, “Decker Field: The Untold Story,” chronicles the efforts of a then Utah pilot, Douglas Decker, to transform the former Air Force base into a civilian use airport.
Beginning in 1972, Decker coordinated with local, state, and U.S. government officials while spearheading the effort to obtain public use of the base for civilian aviation. Two years later, the Wendover Town Council signed a resolution recognizing Decker’s efforts and, in honor of his work, renamed the facility Decker Field.
In 1977 the city of Wendover finalized an agreement with the U.S. Air Force deeding the property and buildings of KENV to the city. The facility now goes by its original Wendover name, but the newest exhibit tells the story of Decker’s work in leading the transition effort.
The main museum at Wendover Airfield is in the Brinkman Service Club on the former base, which is open Monday through Saturday. There are additional exhibits in the FBO building south of the control tower.
Wendover was a World War II B-17 and B-24 bomber training base. It was also the training site for the 509th Composite Group that carried out the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Decker was a corporate executive in Utah at the time of his work on behalf of the Wendover project. He is now retired and lives in Pawley’s Island, S.C., with his wife Judy. He holds an Airline Transport Pilot rating and has been a pilot for more than 50 years. In 2016 he was a recipient of the Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award for exhibiting professionalism, skill, and aviation expertise in piloting aircraft for 50 years.
For more information: WendoverAirfield.org
We are grateful for his work! Too bad he is so far away to enjoy it as a pilot these days. It’s a wonderful flight from anywhere in northern Utah for students XC, or a flight with friends for breakfast or lunch and appreciate the museum and history.