80 years ago at the start of WWII, a military base was built on farmland east of Gardner to help aid in the war efforts.

The “Prairie Navy” opened October 1, 1942 and trained pilots for WWII and The Korean War efforts.

The land is now occupied by NewCentury AirCenter, but the Olathe Naval Air Station thrives on the land for 27 years prior.

To commemorate the naval air station’s legacy, the Johnson County Airport Commission, Gardner Historical Museum and the Heart of America Wing of the Commemorative Air Force will be hosting a celebration Saturday, October 1 at the Commemorative Air Force Hangar 6, Aero Plaza, New Century AirCenter from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Activities will include museum and historical items on display, flight simulators, kids activities, photo boards, a paper airplane contest, the navy dog tag machine, ONAS souvenirs and more.

The air station occupied 640 acres with construction beginning January 5, 1942. The land was purchased for $72,343 with the initial development cost at $13 million. This would be approximately $289 million today.

The station began with 2,000 enlisted men and 100 officers and expanded to 2,000 acres, three runways, 14 secondary fields and 44 buildings.

A few of the original buildings remain today. From July 1942 to September 1944 the station trained approximately 4,550 cadets in Stearman two-seater biplanes.

John Glenn, the U.S. Astronaut and former U.S. Senator famously known for being the third American in space and the first to orbit the earth in 1962, was part of the first class of pilots trained at the base. He would make his first solo flight in a military plane at the Olathe Naval Air Station.

He described the place as a “sea of mud and we made our way from building to building on wooden duckboards.”

Bob Barker, famous television game show host, would also train as a navy fighter pilot at the station after enlisting in the Navy Reserve in 1943.

After WWII, the Olathe Naval Air Station began supporting Naval and Marine Air Reserve training programs for reservists, air traffic controllers and ground approach operators.

The base became a stop over and refueling point for naval planes transporting officers. It was a duty station for about 1,000 military service personnel. In 1948 it was the fifth largest employer in the Kansas City region.

The Olathe Naval Air Station housed the first Olympic- sized pool west of the Mississippi River in Kinnick Hall and hosted dances with Big Band music.

The Navy announced in 1969 they were closing the naval air station and decommissioned it in 1970. The Morse Outlying Landing Field was transferred to the city of Olathe in 1951 and renamed the Olathe Airport.

In 1967, Johnson County Airport Commission formed and purchased the Olathe Airport for one dollar. They changed the name to the Johnson County Executive Airport.

The Olathe Naval Air Station was renamed to the Johnson County Industrial Airport in 1973 and became New Century AirCenter in 1995.