FLORIDA IN WORLD WAR II - A Presentation

By Toni Collins
On Saturday, October 17th, the Levy County Historical Society will present the first of a
three part series entitled Florida in World War II. Starting at 2:00 PM, the history of the
MONTBROOK ARMY AIRFIELD, known today as the Williston Airport, will be presented by
F. Don McCormick, local historian and author. The presentation will be held in the hanger of the
Williston Airport, 1800 SW 19th Avenue, Williston, FL
On May 19, 1942, 1,080 acres of land southwest of Williston occupied by 26 families was
selected as a facility to be used as a training field for all types of military aircraft. Housing was to
be provided for 75 officers and 300 enlisted men. Three runways of 5,000-ft. in length were planned
along with 16-hard stands and 11,000-ft of 50-ft wide taxiways. Hard stands were paved areas for
parking heavy vehicles.
When it waslearned the Army planned to send heavy bombers to the field in December, one
of the runways was extended to 7,000-ft. The cantonment consisted of 30 buildings which provided
facilitiesfor 112 officers and 320 enlisted men. On February 5, 1943, the B-25 equipped 99th Bomb
Squadron (BS) arrived from Orlando. Only two ofthe runways at Montbrook were hard surfaced.
The third runway was constructed with Marston Matting.
The Army then sent 14 B-17s to Montbrook to lessen the congestion at Lakeland.
Eventually the following aircraft were stationed at Montbrook: 14 B-17s, 12 B-25s of the 99th BS,
and an undetermined number of B-26s of the 430th BS. The 99th BS transferred to Brooksville on
November 14, 1943 and five days later the 465th BS arrived from Alachua. The 465th, an
operational training and demonstration unit, operated the Douglas A-20. On March 2, 1944, the
465th BS transferred to Orlando and one month later, Montbrook Airfield closed. Today, the
Montbrook Army Airfield serves as the Williston Municipal Airport.
The Historical Society members are pleased to welcome our speaker, Fenwick Donald
McCormick. Donald served in the US Army 2nd Battalion, 23 Infantry from 1959-61 completing
his basic combat training at Fort Benning, Georgia. Donald is well known for his numerous
vocational and agricultural teaching positions in area schools. A listing of his leadership roles with
National and State Vocational and Agricultural associations cover a page and a half! Hisinterest in
local history led him to pen several history books, which includes being a contributor to "Williston
— Crossroads of Florida".