Final Honors

The Wright brothers became the most memorialized Americans of the 20th century, matched in commemorative zeal among their countrymen only by Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln. Perfecting a flying machine was regarded as nothing short of a miracle, and Dayton's two most famous sons were soon hailed throughout the world for making the ancient dream of flight a reality. After Wilbur Wright died unexpectedly in 1912, prominent Dayton leaders first believed that Huffman Prairie Flying Field would be the best place for a memorial. They wanted a simple, classic design thoroughly in keeping with the unassuming modesty of Wilbur and Orville Wright, but the devastation of a great flood in 1913 delayed construction until 1938. The memorial fittingly overlooks the place where their greatest work was done.

Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio · United States