The B-29 Memorial was created to honor sacrifices made to secure freedom, while also preserving the history of Great Bend Army Air Field, the B-29 bomber, America's veterans, and military installations. Built on the site of the former headquarters building at Great Bend Army Air Field, its design evokes the Global 20th Air Force emblem, the view from inside a B-29's nose, the sight through a Norden bombsight, and the shadow of a plane landing overhead. The B-29 itself emerged from American efforts beginning in 1939 and 1940 to develop a long-range heavy bomber, leading Boeing's XB-29 design to be chosen over Consolidated's XB-32. Rushed into production before full testing, the aircraft suffered serious engine problems that caused crashes and loss of life, including the February 18, 1943, crash near Boeing Field that killed all 11 men aboard and 20 people on the ground. Even so, the bomber became a major weapon in World War II. Production demanded enormous labor and materials across plants in Renton, Wichita, Marietta, and Omaha, with thousands of workers, including many women, building 3,943 aircraft. Training of eleven-man crews took place at bases including Great Bend, Pratt, Smoky Hill, and Walker in Kansas, where shortages of aircraft and extensive modifications led to the so-called Battle of Kansas in early 1944, as mechanics and Boeing technicians worked in severe conditions to prepare planes for combat. B-29s then flew from India and China under Operation Matterhorn and later from the Mariana Islands, carrying out long-range bombing missions against Japan. Under changing tactics in 1945, incendiary raids devastated Japanese cities, and specially modified Silver Plate B-29s of the 509th Composite Group dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945. After Japan's surrender ended World War II, the B-29 continued in the Cold War and Korean Conflict, serving in bombing, reconnaissance, tanker, rescue, and weather roles until jet aircraft made it obsolete as a bomber, though it remained in Air Force service until 1960.