Eaker Air Force Base Eaker Air Force Base ( 1942 – 1992 ) was a front - line United States Air Force base for over 40 years . It was located 3 miles ( 5 km ) northwest of central Blytheville , Arkansas . It was closed as a military base in 1992 at the end of the Cold War pursuant to BRAC action and now operates as Arkansas International Airport . The military still makes use of the Arkansas International Airport in flight training maneuvers , and as a landing site to pick up and drop off local Arkansas National Guard personnel . Overview . Known for most of its operational life as Blytheville Army Airfield ( 1942 – 1946 ) or Blytheville Air Force Base ( 1953 – 1988 ) , the facility was renamed Eaker Air Force Base on 26 May 1988 , in honor of General Ira Eaker , an air pioneer and second commander of Eighth Air Force during World War II . Eaker was the architect of a strategic bombing force that ultimately numbered forty groups of 60 heavy bombers each , supported by a subordinate fighter command of 1 , 500 aircraft , most of which was in place by the time he relinquished command of Eighth Air Force at the start of 1944 . During its operational lifetime the mission of Eaker Air Force Base was that of a training base during World War II and both a tactical as well as a strategic bomber base during the Cold War . After the Cold War , the Base Realignment and Closure ( BRAC ) 1991 commission recommended Eaker be closed in a cost - cutting move . The facility closed on 15 December 1992 . History . World War II . Blytheville Army Air Field was originally a installation used by the United States Army Air Forces during World War II as a training airfield as part of the 70 , 000 Pilot Training Program . It was one of many air fields created in the country ’ s interior during the war . Airfield construction was that of an overlapping square design , with three large ramps for aircraft parking and two parallel N / S concrete runways ; 5000x150 ( NE / SW ) , 5000x150 ( NW / SE ) . In addition to the main airfield , four axillary fields were constructed to support the training mission . Those were located as follows The initial USAAF unit at Blytheville was the 326th Base Headquarters and Air Base Squadron , which organized the ground support units at the field . Activated on 10 June 1942 for flight operations , the field was used as an advanced Twin - Engine flying school in the Army Air Forces Training Command Southeastern Training Command ' s pilot training program . Its students were pilots being trained to fly twin - engine medium bombers and also twin - engine C - 47 Transports . The 25th Twin - Engine Flying Training Group was activated at Blytheville on 25 June 1942 with four ( 700 , 701 , 702 , 703 ) training squadrons . Flying training commenced in the fall of 1942 . The main trainer used at Blytheville AAF was the Beechcraft AT - 10 Wichita , along with some Curtiss - Wright AT - 9 s , Cessna AT - 17 Bobcat s , and some North American B - 25 Mitchell trainers ( designated as AT - 24s ) . Planes from Blytheville were fuselage - coded " BL " . In September 1943 , facilities for instrument flying training were completed . Throughout 1944 , Blytheville trained many female WASP pilots as B - 25 co - pilots , and AT - 10 pilots with TB - 25 Mitchells . Training Command ended control of Blytheville on 16 June 1945 , the facility being taken over by Continental Air Forces . The 809th Army Air Forces Base Unit assumed control of the station and the mission of Blytheville was changed to that of a troop carrier combat crew training facility with C - 46 Commando and C - 47 Skytrain aircraft . The flight school closed on 31 October 1945 . after the war ended . In the immediate postwar era , the airfield was then used as a processing center for military personnel who were being discharged at a rapid rate as the country demobilized . On 1 April 1946 , the base was assigned to the new Tactical Air Command , however demobilization was rapidly reducing the size of the Army Air Force and the facility was officially closed on 15 August 1946 ; being turned over to the War Assets Administration ( WAA ) for disposal . Control of base and land was transferred to the city of Blytheville by the WAA . During the postwar era , the base was closed and generally unused . However the United States Air Force activated the 387th Communications Squadron ( USAFR ) at the former wartime communications facility briefly in 1949 . Tactical Air Command . As a result of the Cold War and the expansion of the United States Air Force , Blytheville Air Force Base was reopened on 10 June 1953 . However a much needed construction program was begun at the former World War II training facilities to rehabilitate the wartime facilities into a permanent base . The wartime runways were removed and reduced to aggregate , being used in the construction of a main runway , capable of being used by the Air Force ' s largest aircraft . Blytheville Air Force Base was officially christened as a single - mission base on 19 July 1955 . It consumed of area farmland , most of which had been used by the original air field ; the rest was purchased from local farmers . The base was assigned to Tactical Air Command ( TAC ) , and plans were made to make the base ready by the end of 1955 , with operational status to be restored by mid - 1956 with combat units assigned there . The provisional 4431st Air Base Squadron was the initial tenant at the base as a " housekeeping " unit ; the 764th Bombardment Squadron was moved to the base on 8 October 1955 from Hill Air Force Base , Utah equipped with Martin B - 57B Canberra twin - engined tactical bombers to begin the base ' s operational use . Enough construction was completed by the spring that on 8 April 1956 , the full 461st Bombardment Wing was assigned to Blytheville from Hill , along with two more B - 57 squadrons ( 765th , 766th ) . The mission of the 461st Bomb Wing was to provide training in air support of ground forces and air interdiction from lessons learned during the Korean War . However , a number of B - 57Bs were lost in accidents , particularly during high - speed , low - level operations when aircraft suddenly and unexplainably dove into the ground . As these accidents persisted , all tactically - assigned B - 57Bs were grounded in May 1956 for a period of four months while the problem was investigated . The fault was eventually traced to a faulty tailplane actuator which set the trim incorrectly . The installation of a new actuator switch cured the problem . However , the USAF was not very happy with the B - 57B as it was initially produced . It was still deemed to be inadequate to meet the night intruder and close support role for which it had originally been designed . The target acquisition system was inadequate , the navigational range was too short , and the radio navigation could not recover the aircraft after strikes . The armament was inadequate — the gun - bomb - rocket sight , the gun charging systems , and the external stores release mechanisms were all unreliable . After three years of service with the B - 57 , the decision was made by TAC to phase out the B - 57B in favor of supersonic F - 100 Super Sabre aircraft . The wing turned in its aircraft to Air Materiel Command for disposition and the wing inactivated on 1 April 1958 . Strategic Air Command . With the inactivation of the TAC 461st Bombardment Wing on 1 April 1958 , Strategic Air Command ( SAC ) assumed control of Blytheville AFB . The provisional 4229th Air Base Squadron assumed operational control of the base and remained in charge until 1 July 1959 , when the 97th Bombardment Wing took control , being moved from Biggs AFB , Texas . At Blytheville , the 97th was under the control of the SAC 4th Air Division , Eighth Air Force with a mission to " provide command and staff supervision over assigned combat tactical units that execute bombardment missions designed to destroy enemy forces and facilities . " Official dedication ceremonies were held on 10 January 1960 , with the arrival of the 97th BMW ' s first B - 52G Stratofortress , " The City of Blytheville " , being assigned to the wing ' s 340th Bombardment Squadron . In addition to the B - 52G , the base also housed the KC - 135A Stratotanker aerial refueling aircraft beginning in October 1961 with the activation of the 914th Air Refueling Squadron . The aerial refueling capability of the KC - 135s extended the range of the wing ' s B - 52s . Along with refueling the B - 52s on training missions , the tankers participated in an ongoing command - wide rotation to bases in Southern Europe to support CHROME DOME bombers . The 97th BMW earned an Air Force Outstanding Unit Award ( AFOUA ) for activities during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 . On 22 October SAC responded by establishing Defense Condition Three ( DEFCON III ) , and ordered the 97th to place two B - 52s on airborne alert . Tension grew and the next day SAC declared DEFCON II , a heightened state of alarm . While at DEFCON II the 97th maintained two B - 52s on airborne alert . One of the 97th ' s bombers carried AGM - 28 Hound Dog and ADM - 20 Quail missiles , the other carried nuclear and conventional ordnance . No missions were aborted or canceled during the crisis . The 97th and other units deployed KC - 135 tankers to Zaragoza Air Base , Spain to refuel the alert force . Reconnaissance photographs taken on 1 November 1962 indicated that the Soviets had begun dismantling the SS - 4 IRBM missile sites in Cuba . The wing returned to DEFCON III on the 15th and subsequently resumed normal activity on 20 November . During the Vietnam War , the wing supported SAC ' s combat operations in Southeast Asia . Its involvement began on 14 December 1965 when the wing sent one KC - 135 to participate in YOUNG TIGER , the operation to refuel fighters involved in the conflict . At first , the wing ' s B - 52Gs remained at Blytheville while bomber crews went to Guam to fly ARC LIGHT bombing missions . However , by the summer of 1972 all the 97th ' s bombers were at Andersen Air Force Base , Guam , detached to the 72d Strategic Wing ( Provisional ) . From Andersen , wing crews flew LINEBACKER II ( sometimes called the " 11 - Day War " because of its intensity ) missions in December 1972 . On 18 December 1972 Hanoi ' s air defenses claimed the lives of nine crew members during this operation , while North Vietnamese ground forces captured another four and held them as prisoners of war . On 15 August 1973 , after months of committing most of the wing ' s people and resources to the conflict , crew E - 21 had the distinction of flying the last mission over a target in Cambodia . This marked the end of the United States ' bombing in Southeast Asia . After the United States ' involvement in the Vietnam War ended , the 97th resumed its bomber training and refueling missions while it continued to participate in contingency operations and assume new roles . Tanker crews and aircraft refueled other Air Force units supporting the rescue of American citizens in Grenada in October and November 1983 . In 1984 the wing upgraded its B - 52G force to carry the AGM - 86B air launched cruise missile ( ALCM ) . The wing further expanded its mission in 1987 to include conventional bombing , sea search and surveillance , and aerial mining . In 1988 , the installation was renamed as Eaker AFB . After August 1990 , the 97th began practicing for missions overseas in the Middle East as a result of Iraq ' s invasion of Kuwait . In late December , 97th Bombardment Wing B - 52 crews practiced high altitude bombing missions at the Nellis AFB test range in Nevada , anticipating their role in the inevitable war to come . On 1 February 1991 major elements of the 97th deployed to RAF Fairford , United Kingdom , forming the 806th Bombardment Wing ( Provisional ) . At Fairford , the Wing participated as part of the expeditionary unit during Operation Desert Storm , executing multiple KC - 135 air refueling missions in the region and B - 52 strike missions over Iraq and Kuwait . The wing conducted over 60 conventional bombing sorties and many air - refueling sorties . Tragically , the only B - 52 lost during the Gulf War was from Eaker AFB . It was not shot down but went down in the Indian Ocean due to a mechanical failure . Aircraft and personnel returned to Eaker AFB by mid - 1991 . Closure . Eaker Air Force Base topped the Strategic Air Command ’ s list of base closures in 1991 . The Cold War was coming to an end , U . S . defense spending was declining , and the U . S . Air Force , under the provisions of the START I treaty , began retiring the B - 52G model of the Stratofortress , the housing and launching of which was the single mission of the base . Official closure of Eaker Air Force Base was announced in 1991 , and on 6 March 1992 , the last aircraft , " The City of Blytheville " , left the base . With the disestablishment of Strategic Air Command in the summer of 1992 , claiamcy of Eaker AFB briefly shifted to the newly established Air Combat Command ( ACC ) . The official closure ceremony for Eaker AFB was held on 15 December 1992 , and the transition from military to civilian , general aviation airport began . Current uses . For a short period of time it was in the hands of USA FLORAL . In December 1998 USA FLORAL leased the former Eaker Air Force Base to become a distribution facility . They said " We plan to use this facility not only as a distribution center for our North American Wholesale Distribution operations but also as a production hub where we will process incoming flowers ( i . e . , break bulk , hydrate , re - cut stems and re - package to suit customer demand ) to facilitate distribution of flowers and hardgoods to retail florists , mass - market retailers , wholesale distributors and Internet - based marketers throughout North America . " USA FLORAL went out of business soon after . Over the years , the facility has grown from a general aviation airport to the Arkansas International Airport and the adjacent Arkansas Aeroplex industrial park .