Soon after the attack on
Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, the Fairfield-Suisun Army Air Base, later to become Travis, was born on the windswept plains of Solano County. To meet the urgent need for an air gateway to the Pacific, the base soon had two runways on a 945-acre site between the twin farming communities. The gusty winds challenged the gutsy young pilots who trained here, many of whom saw the
Golden Gate—their last view of the mainland—as they flew out to do battle. Expanding through the next two decades until it encompassed over 6,000 acres, Travis is now the largest base under the U.S. Air Force Mobility Command.
Background Information
Pearl Harbor, the home in Hawaii of the American Pacific fleet, was attacked by surprise by Japanese aircraft on December 7, 1941.
