The Shamrock tower, originally built out of necessity, became a landmark for travelers crossing the Panhandle, a gathering place where travelers and locals watered horses and wagon teams, and a lasting part of community life in Wheeler County. Residents long used it to give directions, remembered it as the turnaround for the town’s main drag, and saw it become a test of daring as people climbed it despite the danger, sometimes leaving spray paint behind. It also served for years as a popular backdrop for photographs and remained a constant presence watching over the city. The tower is also linked to John Wallace Fields, born in 1917 in Ramsdell, Wheeler County, Texas, who graduated from Shamrock High School, studied chemistry at Texas Technological College, and joined the Army Air Corps. After graduating in flying school class 41-C, he was assigned to the 7th Bombardment Group at Salt Lake City and was flight testing a new Boeing B-17 in California when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. His unit went to Australia, became part of the 19th Bombardment Group, and Fields flew missions with the 435th Kangaroo Squadron from Australia and New Guinea. In 1942 the 19th returned to the United States and was based at Pyote Field near Midland, Texas. While awaiting another assignment, Fields flew a B-17 to Shamrock and took it down Main Street so low that he was looking up at the water tower. Some local residents complained to the Army Air Force, though others defended the flight as a hometown pass by a serviceman hoping his family might recognize him. After World War II, Fields returned to Shamrock, ran the family business, made his home there, and raised a family with his wife Cecile. A highly decorated veteran, he was later recalled for the Korean War after flying fifty-one combat missions against the Japanese in the Southwest Pacific, yet his low pass down Main Street remained one of his most memorable flights.