During World War 11, my Father and Grandfather worked at the Santa Ana Air Base in Orange County. They both cooked in Mess Halls. My Grandfather is circled the first photo and my Father is circled the second photo.
Santa Ana Army Air Base was a World War II air base located near Santa Ana, California. The air base was decommissioned in 1946, and part of the land was annexed by Costa Mesa in 1953.[1] The base was 1,336 acres (5.41 km2), and the main section of the base was located between Baker Street to the north, Harbor Boulevard to the west, Wilson Street on the south, and Newport Boulevard on the east. The land formerly occupied by the air base is today the home of John Wayne Airport, the Orange County Fairgrounds, and Orange Coast College.
The Santa Ana Army Air Base was an air base without planes, hangers or runways. It was a huge basic training camp where newly inducted soldiers were given 9 weeks of basic training and then testing to determine if they were to be pilots, bombardiers, navigators, mechanics, etc. From SAAAB, they went on to other bases for training in their specialties.
