Bucholz Army Airfield Bucholz Army Airfield is a United States Army airfield located on Kwajalein Island , Kwajalein Atoll , Marshall Islands . Its position is ideal for refueling during trans - Pacific flights , and the airport is available to civilians through Air Marshall Islands and United Airlines . Since the entire Kwajalein Island is a military base , non - military passengers on commercial flights are transported to and from the neighboring island of Ebeye , the civilian population center of Kwajalein Atoll . History . Bucholz Army Airfield was initially built by the Japanese in 1943 as part of a large naval base . It came under heavy air attacks in late 1943 to neutralize the island . The atoll was assaulted by American forces on 31 January 1944 . Employing the hard - learned lessons of the Battle of Tarawa , the United States launched a successful twin assault on the main islands of Kwajalein in the south and Roi - Namur in the north . The Japanese defenders put up a stiff resistance though outnumbered and under - prepared . The determined Japanese defense left only 51 survivors of an original garrison of 3 , 500 . After the seizure from the Japanese , Kwajalein was developed into a major American base and staging area for further campaigns in the advance on the Japanese homeland . After repairing and expanding the Japanese airfield , the United States Army Air Forces ( USAAF ) moved Headquarters , Seventh Air Force from Nanumea to the airfield in April 1944 , and moved the B - 24 Liberator - equipped 11th Bombardment Group from Tarawa and 30th Bombardment Group from Abemama to Bucholz at the beginning of April . From Kwajalein , the heavy bombers struck at enemy targets in the Marshall Islands . Along with the heavy bomber groups , the USAAF reassigned the F - 5 ( P - 38 Lightning ) - equipped 28th Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron to Kwajalein to fly long - range photographic missions over the Marshalls and reported directly to Headquarters , Seventh Air Force . The USAAF combat units remained until fall , 1944 until being moved forwards into the Marianas , being assigned to airfields on Guam and Saipan . The United States then used Kwajalein as a maintenance and supply hub , supplying forward bases with supplies and equipment . After the war , the United States used Kwajalein as a main command center and preparation base for Operation Crossroads and an extensive series of nuclear tests ( comprising a total of 67 blasts ) at the Marshalls ' atolls of Bikini and Enewetak . Later , in the 1950s and 1960s , Bucholz became part of the Atomic Energy Commission Pacific Testing Area . Although the Marshall Islands was officially granted independence from the United States , and became an independent republic in 1986 , Kwajalein atoll is still used by the United States for missile testing and various other operations . Although this military history has deeply influenced the lives of the Marshall Islanders who have lived in the atoll through the war to the present , the military history of Kwajalein has made tourism almost non - existent and has kept the environment in relatively pristine condition . American civilians and their families who reside at the military installations in Kwajalein are able to enjoy this environment with few restrictions . As of 2009 , Bucholz Army Airfield is still operated by the United States Army . All civil and military operations require 24 hours ' prior permission .