Norton Field, the first airport in central Ohio, was named for Fred William Norton, a Columbus native, World War I pilot, and Ohio State University athlete. On July 2, 1918, Captain Norton led the 27th "Eagle" Pursuit Squadron in one of the earliest significant American air engagements of World War I, and he died from wounds after his Nieuport 28 was shot down in northern France less than three weeks later. On June 30, 1923, as Columbus received its first air mail delivery, Captain Eddie Rickenbacker attended the dedication ceremonies for Norton Field. The airport became headquarters for the 308th Observation Squadron, made up of local reservists, many of them members of the Aero Club of Columbus, which had lobbied the War Department to establish the airport. Many early aviation notables, including Charles Lindbergh, William "Billy" Mitchell, and James H. "Jimmy" Doolittle, flew from Norton Field, and Curtis LeMay trained there in 1931-1932 before later becoming Air Force Chief of Staff and head of Strategic Air Command. Norton Field also served as headquarters for the red forces in the 1929 Army Air Corps maneuvers, a mock war that demonstrated the effectiveness of long-range bombing, aerial refueling, and the first extensive use of radio in both air-to-air and air-to-ground communication. During World War II, it served as a pilot training field and as a refueling and overnight stop for Women's Air Force Service Pilots, and it continued operating as a general aviation field until its acreage was sold for residential development in the early 1950s.
