Member Spotlight

The delegation members’ energy was redoubled May 1st, when the Department of Defense asked to start base construction and requested more that $31 million in initial funding.

The Little Rock Chamber of Commerce referred the fund raising issue to the Pulaski County Citizens Council, known locally as the Committee of 100. The committee saw the instant and future financial implications for the county and state and began an intensive drive to fund the project.

The proposed base site was originally believed to worth roughly a quarter of a million dollars. But the sheer number of houses, barns, businesses and industrial complexes on the site, and the number of private land owners holding deed to the land soon made developers realize that the funding goal would have to be much higher – between $600,000 and $800,000.

On July 26, 1952, Congress authorized more than $23 million to begin base construction at the Central Arkansas location if the land could be acquired without incurring any cost to the Air Force.

Raymond Rebsamen, then president of the Pulaski County Citizens Council, convinced Arthur Phillips to spearhead the funding initiative for the base land purchase. The men then joined with Little Rock Chamber of Commerce President Richard Butler and Houston J. Burford, chairman of the General Gifts Committee. Together, the four pledged to raise the necessary funds by targeting wealthy individuals and the state’s existing business structure.

On October 4, 1952, Arkansas’ congressmen were notified via telegraph from Brigadier General R.E. Eaton that the United States Air Force had confirmed the selection of the Jacksonville site. Two days later, the Committee of 100 started purchasing the land.

The Committee of 100 wrapped up the fund drive and land purchase in mid-December of 1953. The committee and its countless volunteers and champions had pledged, raised and presented more than a million dollars to bring the state’s then largest single commercial enterprise to a 6,260 acre lot in Jacksonville.

Strategic Air Command General Order number 47 officially activated Little Rock Air Force Base on August 1, 1955. As an official Air Force Base, Little Rock and its 65 officers and 398 enlisted Airmen began their first official mission training C-45 aircrew.

On October 9, 1955, Operation Welcome gave 86,000 Arkansans their first peek into their brand new Little Rock Air Force Base.


	Central Arkansas Lands Air Force On October 9th, 2005, the Little Rock Air Force officially celebrated 50 years of service to the nation. However, the base would have never come to Jacksonville without the vision and resourcefulness of the Little Rock region’s business and government leadership. With the United States gripped by Cold War, the United States Air Force needed to spread its strategic bombers across the country to help them survive a potential attack and maintain a viable force capable of a counter strike. Throughout America’s heartland, Air Force leadership began looking for potential air base sites where strategic bombers and intelligence gathering aircraft could be stabled safely. As the Air Force began the search for homes for new bases, a group of Little Rock businessmen and civic leaders saw an opportunity for a golden partnership where Arkansas could bring in much needed industry and the Air Force could house a portion of its aircraft and personnel. These men agreed that the Arkansas congressional delegation should begin campaigning for the Air Force to consider a central Arkansas site, preferably in Pulaski County, for a base. Arch Campbell, Pulaski County Judge, and Everett Tucker, Manager of the Little Rock Chamber’s Industrial Division, went to Washington, D.C. in September of 1951 and successfully lobbied Brigadier General Harold M. Maddux and Assistant Air Force Secretary Edwin V. Huggins to consider a base for Central Arkansas.	Open House Day, Little Rock Air Force Base, October 9, 1955.
	Upon arrival at the new Little Rock Air Force Base on October 9, 1955, Secretary of the Air Force Donald A. Quarles (front center left) is greeted by General Curtis E. LeMay (center), Commander of the Strategic Air Command, and Brigadier General Joseph J. Preston (right), Commander of the 825th Air Division.	According to Mr. Tucker and Judge Campbell, there were several sites in Arkansas that were being considered, but the Air Force leadership at the Pentagon would stipulate that the land be purchased before any construction contracts could be awarded. Congress would not appropriate any money for new base acquisitions, so all the land at any potential site would have to be given to the Air Force. Little Rock civic and business leaders jumped into the site scouting process and began narrowing down the potential list. It was agreed that the Little Rock metropolitan area was large enough to handle the huge influx of people and commerce that would accompany the Air Force’s potential move into Arkansas. As one site after another was eliminated from the list for various shortfalls, one Central Arkansas location continued to make the cut and look better and better. Eventually, it remained the only feasible site left on the list. During World War II, the War Department surveyed and approved a 9,000 acre site for an arms production plant just a few miles north of the Arkansas River in the sleepy little town of Jacksonville. A town of barely 400 people before the munitions plant, Jacksonville’s population boomed to more that 42,000 during the height of production at the Arkansas Ordinance Plant. And with that boom in population came a boom in infrastructure – roads, communications and river and rail freight. At the end of World War II, the plant was closed and the many buildings were vacated, only to be used at various times by small businesses and manufacturers. Aerial photography of the Jacksonville site stirred considerable energy with members of the Arkansas congressional delegation after Air Force leadership touted the site as “perfect for a valley runway.” Government officials announced on January 13, 1952 that after lengthy review, a Little Rock area base was highly probable.
	The delegation members’ energy was redoubled May 1st, when the Department of Defense asked to start base construction and requested more that $31 million in initial funding. The Little Rock Chamber of Commerce referred the fund raising issue to the Pulaski County Citizens Council, known locally as the Committee of 100. The committee saw the instant and future financial implications for the county and state and began an intensive drive to fund the project. The proposed base site was originally believed to worth roughly a quarter of a million dollars. But the sheer number of houses, barns, businesses and industrial complexes on the site, and the number of private land owners holding deed to the land soon made developers realize that the funding goal would have to be much higher – between $600,000 and $800,000. On July 26, 1952, Congress authorized more than $23 million to begin base construction at the Central Arkansas location if the land could be acquired without incurring any cost to the Air Force. Raymond Rebsamen, then president of the Pulaski County Citizens Council, convinced Arthur Phillips to spearhead the funding initiative for the base land purchase. The men then joined with Little Rock Chamber of Commerce President Richard Butler and Houston J. Burford, chairman of the General Gifts Committee. Together, the four pledged to raise the necessary funds by targeting wealthy individuals and the state’s existing business structure. On October 4, 1952, Arkansas’ congressmen were notified via telegraph from Brigadier General R.E. Eaton that the United States Air Force had confirmed the selection of the Jacksonville site. Two days later, the Committee of 100 started purchasing the land. The Committee of 100 wrapped up the fund drive and land purchase in mid-December of 1953. The committee and its countless volunteers and champions had pledged, raised and presented more than a million dollars to bring the state’s then largest single commercial enterprise to a 6,260 acre lot in Jacksonville. Strategic Air Command General Order number 47 officially activated Little Rock Air Force Base on August 1, 1955. As an official Air Force Base, Little Rock and its 65 officers and 398 enlisted Airmen began their first official mission training C-45 aircrew. On October 9, 1955, Operation Welcome gave 86,000 Arkansans their first peek into their brand new Little Rock Air Force Base.	A C-130 leads The Thunderbirds over Arkansas' State Capitol to the Little Rock Air Force for the 50th Anniversary Air Show on Saturday, October 8, 2005.
Written by Jason Neal. Reprinted and edited, with permission, from Little Rock Air Force Base 50th Anniversary, published by Arkansas Times. Photos courtesy of Little Rock Air Force Base.