The City of Oak Harbor posted this to its Facebook page on 2025-12-02 08:36:10.
TIME TRAVEL TUESDAY:
Almost a year before the attack at Pearl Harbor and the U.S. entry into WWII, the Office of the Chief Naval Operations directed the 13th Naval District to develop a base to support, re-arm and refuel Navy patrol planes defending Washington State’s Puget Sound.
They chose Oak Harbor on Whidbey Island and the military went to work. Farmlands were replaced by hangars, barracks, and runways. The first planes landed in Ault Field in August 1942, and the earliest squadrons of aircraft to land on Whidbey were F4F Wildcats followed by F6F Hellcats.
Pictured on the top is the Nicholai family, one of the many farmers in the Clover Valley who sold their land.
Credit: Peggy Darst Townsdin – Photo History of Oak Harbor
#TimeTravelTuesday
NAS Whidbey Island
