Liberal Army Air Field Liberal Army Airfield was a World War II B - 24 Liberator heavy bomber training base of the United States Army Air Forces Second Air Force . It is currently the city - owned Liberal Mid - America Regional Airport . History . The first tangible move to implement the decision to locate an Army Air Corps four - engine pilot school on a site selected one mile west of Liberal , Kansas was the grant of a contract to Murray A . Wilson and Company , engineers , to make a complete survey and layout for an airfield . The new airfield was situated in western Kansas , 120 miles from Amarillo , Texas , in Sections 1 , 6 , 25 , 30 , 31 , and 36 , Townships 34 and 35 South , and Ranges 33 and 34 West , with a dimension of two miles north and south and two miles east and west . The field formed part of a flat , low plateau . By 16 January 1943 the survey had been completed . But even before the survey had been officially finished , contracts were let on 9 January , with Peter Kiewit Sons named as prime contractor . The entire field , some 1 , 946 . 7 acres , was purchased by the government . In addition , 3 . 3 acres on the north extremity of the north - south runway were leased to provide zone clearance space . Just nine days later construction began on the site . Facilities on Liberal Army Airfield were to run to approximately $ 8 , 000 , 000 . Initially three concrete runways were built , each 7 , 000 feet in length and 150 feet wide , with a gross load capacity of 37 , 000 pounds . Portable B - 2 type runway lights were installed . In addition , a concrete parking apron of some 276 , 318 square yards was constructed , along with three concrete taxiways 100 feet in width . In 1943 , a second set of three runways , identical and parallel to the first three were built . Also an enclosing loop taxiway was constructed . This doubled the capacity of the airfield for landings and takeoffs . Training facilities included three school buildings and four Link trainer buildings . Five hangars were built , two of steel and three of wood . Three large warehouses and storage facilities for 591 , 000 gallons of gasoline were built . Construction coming under the general category of recreation and welfare included a gymnasium , officers ' club , service club , theater , chapel , and three post exchanges . A spur line of the Rock Island Railroad was run on to the field from the main line . Housing facilities for 4 , 934 officers and men and a hospital with a normal bed capacity of 142 were constructed . All buildings were of mobilization type construction . In addition to the main installation , Gage Auxiliary Field , a former municipal airport , was acquired by lease . This field , some 81 miles from Liberal Army Air Field , comprised 780 acres , providing two hard surfaced runways , each of which was 5 , 500 feet in length and 150 feet wide . B - 24 Liberator Basic Training School . In April 1943 , before completion of construction , the initial group of officers and men of the original cadre reported . Liberal AAF was officially opened on 13 May 1943 . It placed was under the jurisdiction of the Army Air Forces Pilot School ( Specialized 4 - Engines ) , II Bomber Command , Second Air Force . The mission of the base was to train B - 24 Liberator heavy bomber pilots which were predominantly newly commissioned officers graduated from Training Command advanced twin - engine flying schools . Additional personnel arrived during subsequent weeks . In the midst of construction , personnel acquisition moved into an intensified phase during April and May , so that the base was actively manned by the time the first B - 24 ' s to be used in training set down on the brand new runways on 20 June . That scheduling was extremely close during those hectic days can be seen in that only ten days later , on 1 July , the members of the first class were introduced to the Liberators . This is the official date of the inauguration of training at Liberal , barely six months after construction began . The training cycle was nine weeks in length . Halfway through the cycle of the first class , another class began the course , so that , afterward , a class graduated every four and a half weeks . By 8 December 1943 Col . R . C . Rockwood , operations and training officer , was able to tell a group of civilian employees that " we are now training approximately one - fourth of the Liberator bomber commanders trained in the continental United States " . The pace of training is well illustrated in that it was not until 7 October 1943 that time was found for a formal dedication . Initially and for a considerable time the commanding officer of the field was in charge of the several squadrons and detachments which performed the various functions requisite to the functioning of the school . The commanding officer was , of course , responsible both for training and for the maintenance of the base services . George McGovern , later a senator and candidate for President of the United States , trained as a B - 24 pilot at Liberal . On 1 May 1944 all the separate units on the field were disbanded except for the 744th AAF Band , the Airways Communications Squadron , and the Base Weather Section . In place of the disbanded organizations the several sections of the 2525th Base Unit were created , distinguished by the nature of the service performed : Unit Headquarters . In February 1945 these sections were redesignated squadrons , which remained in existence until inactivation of the field . After victory in Europe the training program of Liberal Army Airfield became somewhat erratic because of the frequent changes of policy in the Training Command . However , with the surrender of the Japanese in August , the mission of the school was definitely over . Inactivation . On 7 September 1945 the commanding officer received official orders for inactivation of the field on or before 30 September . B - 24 Liberators were obsolete as the postwar Air Force would retain the B - 29 Superfortress as its long - range strategic bomber . Liberal AAF was placed at that time on a standby status , which meant maintaining it in such condition as would make possible reactivation within thirty days . Consequently , the field ' s activities for the greater part of September were largely concerned with the process of inactivation . Considering the magnitude and complexity of the task , the inactivation process proceeded with a minimum of difficulties . Possibly the greatest problem was a scarcity of experienced personnel . On 19 September the officer students were slated to complete training at Hondo Army Air Field were the 2523d Army Air Forces Base Unit would complete the 4 - engine training on B - 24s transferred from Liberal . All remaining personnel , except officers and enlisted men scheduled to form the standby cadre , were put on movement orders on 29 September . Although the majority of departments were still functioning on 1 October , they were prepared to close down within a few days . Four days later Liberal Army Airfield , was turned over to the Army ' s District Engineer , Seventh Service Command at Omaha , Nebraska who assumed jurisdiction over the field , pending disposition . Excess buildings and demilitarized equipment were sold or transferred to other bases . Some were torn down and sales were held for scrap lumber of torn down buildings , fence posts , barbed wire and other items which no longer had a useful need . Those who had served at Liberal Army Air Field , both military and civilian , might well have been proud of the genuine contribution made by the school to the war effort . During its 27 months of actual training , Liberal Army Air Field graduated 4 , 468 four - engine airplane commanders . In addition , 1 , 025 pilots were graduated from the pre - transition course conducted for a period in the middle of 1944 . Current status . Since the end of World War II , the installation has been operated by the city of Liberal as its municipal airport . One of the runways is maintained for use primarily by general aviation , although limited commercial airline service is offered . The large airfield remains intact , with a few sections of concrete removed to limit access . The large parking apron remains , part of it used by the Mid - America Air Museum . The base station has been totally redeveloped into a light industrial park , university campus and recreation fields . Many streets remain along with the outline of the base parade ground and headquarters .