Call Field Call Field is a former World War I military airfield , located southwest of Wichita Falls , Texas . It operated as a training field for the Air Service , United States Army between 1917 until 1919 . The airfield was one of thirty - two Air Service training camps established in 1918 after the United States entry into World War I . History . Call Field was named for 1st Lieutenant Loren H . Call who reported for aeronautical duty at College Park , Maryland on 19 October 1912 . In the winter of 1912 - 1913 , he and Lieutenant E . L . Ellington were sent to Palm Beach , Florida , in charge of the Signal Corps Aviation Station . From Palm Beach , Lieutenant Call was ordered to Texas City , Texas , and it was there that he was killed in an airplane accident on 8 July 1913 . World War I . In April 1917 after the United States ' entry into World War I , the Army announced its intention of establishing a series of camps to train prospective pilots . Frank Kell of Wichita Falls organized an effort to attract the army to the city . In June 1917 , the Department of War sent a cadre of officers to the Wichita Falls , Texas area to survey sites for an aviation school . The group decided on a location about 5 miles southwest of Wichita Falls . By 17 August 1917 , Kell and others successfully raised $ 35 , 000 and had a commitment from the Missouri , Kansas and Texas Railroad to extend tracks to the proposed site of the camp . On 27 August construction began of the training field began . Call Field had forty - six buildings , which included twelve hangars that housed four to eight planes each , a hospital , and six barracks that held 175 men each . In May 1918 four additional hangars and a row of lofts to hold carrier pigeons were built . It covered over 700 acres and could accommodate up to 1 , 000 personnel . Dozens of wooden buildings served as headquarters , maintenance , and officers ’ quarters . Enlisted men had to bivouac in tents . In May 1918 four additional hangars and a row of lofts to hold carrier pigeons were built . In November , when 85 percent of the work was completed , Maj . J . B . Brooks arrived to inspect the facilities . On 10 November he was named commander . On 29 November the 163d Aero Squadron , equipped with six Curtiss JN - 4 Jenny trainers arrived from Kelly Field , and the field had 600 pilots by late December . Most of the JN - 4 Jennys to be used for flight training , however , were shipped in wooden crates by railcar . On 15 January 1918 the army gave final approval of Call Field . Call Field served as a base for flight training for the United States Army Air Service . In 1918 , flight training occurred in two phases : primary and advanced . Primary training took eight weeks and consisted of pilots learning basic flight skills under dual and solo instruction with a student capacity of 300 . After completion of their primary training , flight cadets were then transferred to another base for advanced training . Training units assigned to Call Field : Service units trained at Call Field : During its operation 3 , 000 officers , cadets , and enlisted men were stationed at Call Field , and 500 officers received their wings there . Two squadrons left the training facility for overseas duty . Thirty - four men lost their lives during training exercises , the smallest number of fatalities of any training center . Closure . With the sudden end of World War I in November 1918 , the future operational status of Call Field was unknown . Many local officials speculated that the U . S . government would keep the field open because of the outstanding combat record established by Call - trained pilots in Europe . Locals also pointed to the optimal weather conditions in the North Texas area for flight training . Cadets in flight training on 11 November 1918 were allowed to complete their training , however no new cadets were assigned to the base . Also the separate training squadrons were consolidated into a single Flying School detachment , as many of the personnel assigned were being demobilized . Finally , flight training activities ceased on November 8 , 1919 . In December 1919 Call Field was deactivated as an active duty airfield , however , and a small caretaker unit was assigned to the facility . The War Department had ordered the small caretaker force to dismantle all remaining structures and to sell them as surplus . Civil use . In 1920 Ernest Hall , a former instructor at Call Field , operated a flying school at the facility . The Wichita Polo Club briefly used a portion of the land for its polo field . In 1937 the Wichita Falls Junior Chamber of Commerce and American Legion erected a small marker near the gates of the old field in memory of the thirty - four men who were killed during training . For a number of years the site was the scene of memorial services by the Call Field Veterans Association . Today , the name is perpetuated by a street in Wichita Falls named Call Field Road .