Over 1,000 cadets learned to fly at Moton Field, taking off and landing on an open, grassy field beyond the structures below. The field was used so intensely for primary flight training during World War II that the aircraft soon rutted the field and wore away the grass. The paved runways there now were added in the 1970s. Moton Field was a small airfield, but it was the scene of great accomplishments. The men and women who came to Moton Field went on to change the nation forever. As Randolph Edwards recalled in 2003, this was the place where they learned to fly, became pilots, and became officers.