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Video by Sarayuth Pinthong

AWOKEN MEMOIRS; stories of the Airman Heritage Museum – Tent City

502nd Air Base Wing

Dec. 4, 2020 | 3:21

Episode 4: "Awoken Memoirs; stories of the Airman Heritage Museum" introduces Tent City. The most noticeable shortage at Lackland was housing. With hundreds of two-story “mobilization” barracks and one-story tarpaper-covered “theater of operations” shelters built during World War II. Lackland had a rated emergency training capacity of 27,500. When this was exceeded in early July 1950, the only immediate alternative was to start erecting tents. At its greatest extent in mid-January 1951, Lackland’s sprawling Tent City contained more than 4,000 tents and were pitched on virtually every open space, including the main parade ground. Most were 12-man squad tents, 32 by 16 feet. Eventually many tents, especially those used as orderly rooms, supply rooms and permanent party housing, were improved with wooden floors, “hard backs” (walls), and attractive landscaping. The Airman Heritage Museum is more than just a building that contains objects frozen in time. It includes a portion of the history and heritage that helped create the organization we identify as the United States Air Force. We have produced "Awoken Memoirs; stories of the Airman Heritage Museum," consisting of six episodes, to focus on its legacy.