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Mitchell
Gallery of Flight Museum | A
History of General Mitchell
Milwaukee
Aviation History | American-Soviet
Mural Project
General William
"Billy" Mitchell, for whom Milwaukee
County's airport is named, was born to a prominent
Milwaukee family on December 29, 1879. His father,
John Lendrum Mitchell, who eventually became a
United States Senator for Wisconsin, was an only
child to millionaire Milwaukee banker and railroad
tycoon Alexander Mitchell.
At
the outbreak of the Spanish-American War in 1898,
Billy Mitchell returned to Milwaukee from what
is now known as George Washington University in
Washington, D.C. to enlist. Mitchell quickly rose
through the ranks in the Signal Corps and in 1912
was appointed to the General Staff, the youngest
person at that time to hold such a position.
In 1916, when Europe
was on the verge of the first World War, Mitchell
recognized the increasing importance of aviation
in war and took it upon himself to learn to fly
at his own expense. Mitchell was promoted to Major
and appointed the head of the Army's aviation
section. He was then sent to Europe, where he
became a leader in establishing a United States
aviation force. Mitchell was promoted again, this
time to the rank of Colonel, and was appointed
Chief of Air Service of the First Army. In the
Battle of St. Mihiel, he was given command of
more than 1,500 British, French, and American
aircraft units. This was the largest air force
ever assembled to that date. For Mitchell's action,
he was promoted to Brigadier General and made
Chief of Air Service of the Group of Armies, the
top aviation command.
Returning to the
United States in 1919, Mitchell was appointed
Director of Military Aeronautics. He vigorously
began promoting aviation, planning the building
of a strong air force and fostering the budding
aircraft industry to establish commercial aviation
on a sound footing. But his opponents were not
in sympathy with his efforts. His claims of air
superiority over the sea led to a confrontation
with the U.S. Navy. In July, 1921, in a test bombing
of German warships, Mitchell proved his point
when his men sank a battleship.
Inevitably, Mitchell's
forceful promotion of his ideas led to a clash
with the traditional forces. As his opposition
grew stronger, Mitchell became more outspoken
in his criticism. Finally in September 1925, he
charged the administration with neglecting the
national defense. He was tried by court-martial
and found guilty of insubordination. He resigned
from the service February 1, 1926, but his influence
lived on as he carried his case to the people.
He continued his work incessantly until his untimely
death in February 1936.
On March 17, 1941,
the Milwaukee County Board voted to change the
County airport's name to General Mitchell Field.
It is a source of pride for Milwaukeans that our
main airport is named in honor of General William
Mitchell, who, though impatient with those who
did not share his beliefs, nevertheless retained
until his death his boundless faith in aviation's
future which he so unerringly visualized.
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Milwaukee formally
entered the aviation era on July 3, 1919, when
it established the first county-operated airport,
named Butler Airport, on the current site of James
Currie Park and Golf Course, located in the northwest
corner of Milwaukee County. At this humble airport
facility, the Lawson Airliner was assembled. On
August 27, 1919, the airliner departed on a demonstration
flight to the east coast of the United States.
Airmail service began for the Milwaukee region
on June 7, 1926, and soon the local residents
and aviators realized the current airfield was
too small, but a small river to the east and a
railroad line to the west prevented any significant
expansion.
On October 5, 1926,
the Milwaukee County Board approved the $150,000
purchase of a new airport facility. The land was
owned by Thomas Hamilton, a local aviator who
operated a propeller manufacturing business and
small airport. Soon after the Hamilton land purchase,
aviation activity at the Currie Park site ceased
and was transferred to the new location. The first
airport terminal, the Hirschbuehl Farmhouse, opened
on the Hamilton Airport site in July of 1927.
That same month Northwest Airlines, Inc., initiated
air service from Milwaukee to Chicago and Minneapolis/St.
Paul. World-famous aviator Charles A. Lindbergh
visited the Milwaukee airport on August 20, 1927.
During the late
depression years (from 1938 to July, 1940), a
new two-story terminal building was constructed
by the Works Progress Administration (WPA). In
1941, the name of the Milwaukee County Airport
was changed to "General Mitchell Field"
after Milwaukee's military advocate, Brigadier
General William "Billy" Mitchell.
Shortly after the
completion of the first terminal and through the
early 1950's, the Mitchell Field airport experienced
growth in the number of flight operations, including
the large propeller-driven StratoCruisers and
Constellations. Due to congestion at the Layton
Avenue terminal building, construction began on
a larger terminal facility to be situated on Howell
Avenue. On July 19, 1955, at a cost of $3.2 million,
a new three-concourse, two-level structure opened
with a capacity of 23 aircraft gates. The airfield
then included 1,530 acres of land for runways
and taxiways.
Milwaukee entered
the jet age in July of 1961 with the arrival of
a Northwest Orient Airlines Boeing 720 four-engine
jet (similar to a Boeing 707 jet). In 1983, Mitchell
Field entered the space age and welcomed Eastern
Airlines "Spirit of Milwaukee," an advanced
technology Boeing 757 jet aircraft which utilized
the same computer system as that of the American
Space Shuttle.
In the late 1970's,
deregulation and continued growth prompted another
expansion project. The focus of this project was
to renovate the existing terminal building. Today,
the $44 million terminal expansion project is
complete. The expanded facility now houses new
and larger shops and an enlarged ticketing and
baggage claim area.
In keeping with
the new appearance of the airport and its increased
national recognition, a new name was also appropriate.
On June 19, 1986, the Milwaukee County Board of
Supervisors officially renamed the airport "General
Mitchell International Airport," also reflecting
the presence of United States Customs at the airport.
In October of 1989,
a new Airport Systems Cargo Complex was opened
to provide security and ground support services
for cargo carriers. The complex also provides
services for loading and unloading freight and
houses a vehicle maintenance shop, which provides
maintenance for ground support equipment.
With increasing
air traffic and growing airline service, Mitchell
International needed to expand its gate area.
On December 14, 1990, a 16-gate addition to Concourse
D opened. The additional 16 gates boost Mitchell
International's total number of gates to 42. In
addition, a new $6 million, 425-foot moving walkway
was constructed to move passengers swiftly from
the Concourse D entrance to the new gate area.
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"Clay: A Healing Way",
the American Soviet mural project was conceived
by Hartland ceramic artist and teacher, Joel Pfeiffer.
During 17 years of backyard and community clay
stomps, he noticed that in order to create living
clay, people needed to physically support each
other while mixing the inter-connectedness and
interdependence of people.
What if citizens from the two
most powerful countries on earth could come together
to mix clay? Could they create a symbol that stood
for the belief that nations could also work together
and understand their inter-connectedness?
The project's first organizational
meeting in March of 1988 started an ever-growing
circle of dedicated volunteers. They solved
problems such as sponsorship, donations (cash
and in-kind), publicity, volunteer recruitment,
filming, site location - both for the stomp and
installation, insurance, stomp logistics, firing
and finishing the mural, interim storage, crating
and transporting the completed mural. A similar
organization was contacted and organized in Leningrad.
Both dealt with the inevitable and sometimes insurmountable
red tape of travel arrangements, visas and customs.
On Saturday, June 11, 1989,
on the Milwaukee Summerfest Grounds, over 5,000
people and volunteers stomped 15,000 lbs. of clay,
creating a mural 8 feet high and 36 feet long.
This was then carved, glazed, fired, crated and
sent to Leningrad and accompanied by 25 Milwaukee
volunteers and three people from the Channels
10/36 film crew.
On Sunday, July 30, 1989 over
2,000 Russians and the Wisconsin volunteers stomped
clay together on the banks of the Neva River in
front of the historic St. Peter-Paul fortress.
The mural you see here was created
that day from the energy and joy of people celebrating
together, people who deeply wanted to transcend
their differences and declare earth their common
home. It was unveiled on November 1, 1989 at the
Milwaukee Art Museum to a standing room only crowd.
On November 10, the Berlin Wall started to come
down.
In August 1990, the Milwaukee
mural, Milwaukee's gift to the people of Leningrad,
was permanently installed in the lobby of the
Port of Leningrad Hotel, the main port authority
of Leningrad. Change continued to sweep the Baltics
and Eastern Europe.
When even one small pebble hits
the water, everything is forever changed. The
water level rises and the ripples of energy go
out endlessly onto the shores and beyond. It is
to this belief - each person's act matters - that
this project is dedicated. |
