Major General Gilbert L. Meyers

Major General Gilbert L. Meyers. . , General Gilbert Meyers entered military service in 1936. He completed his pilot training in 1938 and was assigned the Eighth Pursuit Group at Langley Field, Virginia. His distinguished career contained many firsts. , During the early part of World War II he accepted the first Thunderbolt fighter for use by the Army Air Corps. Serving with the 386th Fighter Group in England, his was the first Air Corps unit to land in France after Normandy. After the German surrender, General Meyers served with the Air Force in the Far East and landed at Tachikawa Air Base, Japan, only days after the Japanese surrender. In 1946, he assumed command of the First Fighter Group when it was the first jet fighter unit in the Air Corps. , In 1950, General Meyers went to Korea for two years as Fifth Air Force director of operations during the Korean conflict. His other post-war assignments included acting as deputy chief of staff operations, Headquarters, Tactical Air Command, vice commander of the Ninth Air Force; deputy director for requirements, Headquarters, United States Air Force; and commander 27th Tactical Fighter Wing. He was commander of the 354th Tactical Fighter Wing from 1960 to 1963. , Among his awards and decorations are the Distinguished Service Medal, Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with seven Oak leaf clusters, Bronze Star and the Croix de Guerre. , ( adjacent marker ) , Kindergarten and Child Development Center. , The Base Kindergarten, building T-154, could be seen when entering the main gate of the base from Kings Highway. To enroll in the kindergarten, a child must have been five years old. , The Child Development Center, building 1286, located on Pampas Drive, was often an award-winner for its excellence of operation. It was chosen as the best in Tactical Air Command in 1986. , The center provided child care and development to children of military families residing on base and in the local communities. The center enabled parents to leave their children without worry. The center's outstanding programs included before and after school programs, "Time-Out" program for parents of special needs children and an excellent pre-school program., After base closure, the facility was sold to a private party to operate as a child care center. , ( adjacent marker ) , Woodland Park School. , Woodland Park School, building 965, located on Hemlock Street, had 45 classrooms, including home economics and shop. Nine offices were used for the teachers' rooms, and two lounges were available. The school had a complete cafeteria and a gymnasium which seated approximately 800 people, but considerably less for games. The school also used four portable units. , The children, kindergarten through eighth grade, of military members residing in base housing attended the school. It was located adjacent to the base housing area, was accredited and was considered one of the finest in the state. It had a foreign language program, band, science fair, competitive sports program, and home economics and industrial arts for seventh and eighth graders. Special education classes also were available., At base closure in 1993 the building was conveyed to Horry-Georgetown Technical College. ,