On 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Great Bend Army Air Field
April 1944 to December 1944
North Field Guam
December 1944 to September 1945
187 Missions
Kadena Okinawa
June 1950 to September 1953
251 Missions — — Map (db m66299) WM
On 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Activated April 1, 1941
Deactivated October 22, 1946
Served with Distinction From Bases In
—————————
Puerto Rico Panama Guatamala Ecuador Pratt, Kansas Chakulia, India . . . — — Map (db m66881) WM
On U.S. 281 just north of Southeast 10 Road, on the left when traveling north.
The Arkansas River is one of America's iconic rivers, coursing 1,469 miles before merging with the Mississippi River. Here in central Kansas, its steady east-southeast flow is interrupted by a wide northward sweep called the great bend. The city . . . — — Map (db m302599) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 281) at 23rd Street, on the left when traveling north on Main Street.
Donated to the City of Great Bend this 18th day of Sept., 1956 by the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway Company.
History
Purchased in July 1919 from Baldwin Locomotive Works at Eddystone, Pennsylvania at a cost of $69,000. Used in . . . — — Map (db m59846) HM
On 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
[Panel] 1 The B-29 Memorial
Honoring the Past...
Educating the Future
The B-29 Memorial was built to honor the sacrifices made by people in the past to ensure freedom for future generations. Until the 1990s, the Great Bend Army Air . . . — — Map (db m69240) HM WM
On 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Vernon Chandler James Stevens
Wayne Christensen George Lane
Neil Allen Frank Hermes
Richard Ackerman Harold Galbreath
Douglas Snook Rutger Kindberg
Roy Kurre Robert Tannehill
Andrew Kerzner — — Map (db m66300) WM
On 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Jim Hall Francis Thompson
Eugene Victor Gerson Lacoff
John Segal Don Leeper
Ernest Vick John Keogh
Don Comer Marv Beattie
John Tyrrell Cecil Corley — — Map (db m66270) WM
On Broadway at Main Street (U.S. 281), on the right when traveling east on Broadway.
Erected and dedicated by
Ira D. Brougher
Department Commander
to
Pap Thomas Post No. 52
Grand Army of the Republic
Department of Kansas
Veterans of the War of
1861 - 1865
[Honor Roll of Post No. 52 Members]
[Honor Roll . . . — — Map (db m59159) WM
On 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Robert Brett Vonley R Bucklin
Thomas Cantwell Roger Denis
Burmon Hoyle Clarence Rarick
William Schomburg Fred Sobaski
Richard Solt David Sussman
Burdette Young — — Map (db m64279) WM
On 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Charles "Deacon" Miller Raymond Geiger
Ted Morrill Ernest Keller
Carson Eckmann Edward Hassig
Robert Foor John Murray
A.L. Tilley Archie Moore
Delmar Pfeiffer Elmer (mascot) — — Map (db m66265) WM
In 1825 the Federal government surveyed the Santa Fe trail, great trade route from western Missouri to Santa Fe. Treaties with Kansas and Osage Indians safeguarded the eastern end of the road but Plains Tribes continued to make raids. Fort Zarah, at . . . — — Map (db m55315) HM
On Main Street (U.S. 281) at Forest Avenue, on the right when traveling north on Main Street.
Tribute to Jack Kilby
There was a time when engineers who improved our daily lives and spawned global industries achieved enormous prominence and public attention. Henry Ford and his tin lizzie were recognized everywhere. Alexander . . . — — Map (db m66174) HM
On 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Bernard Kiley Jr Morris Schuurmans
Patrick Conaghan Jr Henry Harper
Arthur Richards Edward Tis
Cecil Saul Gilbert Dunning
Milton Diley James Husted
John Herring — — Map (db m66245) WM
On 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
World War II Korea Vietnam
Enlisted in USAAF - 1943
Native of Great Bend
Distinguished Service Medal - Legion of Merit
Distinguished Flying Cross - Air Medal
Meritorious Service Medal
Air Force Accommendation Medal
Army . . . — — Map (db m64275) WM
On Frey Street just south of 10th Street (U.S. 56), on the left when traveling north.
In 1803 the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France, although secretly still claimed by Spain. On July 15, 1806, Lt. Zebulon Pike, US Army, left St. Louis, Missouri, with 22 troops and 51 Indians. He was to make treaties with . . . — — Map (db m302511) HM
On 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
K.D. Thompson Thomas F. Randle, Jr.
Thurman W. Sallade Thomas L. Price
Vaughn A. Plevan* S. Clay Sandhofer
Louis N. Decory Charles O. Trabold
B. Keith Baldwin Gordon K. Golden
Leroy J. Arents — — Map (db m64304) WM
On 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Of the 12 original pilots chosen
for the B-29 program
the following were stationed
at Great Bend Army Air Field
——————————
Marshall (Moe) Brown Jack Doran
Archie Lewis . . . — — Map (db m66877) WM
On 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Roy H. Bruns Roy B. Brown
Harold T. Bohham Victor W. Bailey
Laurence A. Dryden Richard H. Beardsley
Richard J. Rodrick Victor E. Repp
C. "Mike" Williams Herbert C. Dunn
Earle M. Bayne — — Map (db m64284) WM
On U.S. 281 just north of Southeast 10 Road, on the left when traveling north.
Arapaho. Apache. Osage. Kiowa. Cheyenne. Comanche. Pawnee. Quivira. Wichita. All of these tribes lived in this region before Euro-American settlement, drawn to the land's bountiful wildlife, wild fruits, greens, and tubers (such as the prairie . . . — — Map (db m302600) HM
On 10th Street (U.S. 56) just east of Holland Street, on the right when traveling east.
Imagine it's 1880, and you've just driven your family hundreds of wearying miles by wagon here to central Kansas. Youre anxious to build a house, but you're surrounded by unbroken prairie not a stick of construction-grade wood in sight. With . . . — — Map (db m302598) HM
On 10th Street (U.S. 56) just east of Holland Street, on the right when traveling east.
For thousands of years, Native Americans relied on this region's wildlife for sustenance. Early settlers, too, depended on bison, deer, and birds drawn to the region's reliable water and forage. As settlements expanded, unregulated hunting took . . . — — Map (db m302597) HM
On 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Edmund G Smith POW James Edward POW
Ray "Hap" Halloran POW Robert Grace*
William Franz* Guy H Knobel POW
John P Nicholson POW Anthony Lukasiewicz*
Vito C Barbieri* Robert Holladay*
Cecil T Laird* — — Map (db m64285) WM
On Frey Street just south of 10th Street (U.S. 56), on the left when traveling north.
Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, allowing the road to Santa Fe to open. This trail of commerce between Missouri and Mexico was a major international trade route. Economies were influenced from Mexico City to England. William Becknell . . . — — Map (db m302596) HM
On 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
"Lucky Irish" Gunner
73rd BW 497th BG 870th SQ
30 combat missions from Saipan.
Enroute home in the famous 52-mission
"Dauntless Dottie" which led the first
Saipan-Tokoyo [sic] Raid, the plane crashed
on Kwajalein, June 7, 1945
In . . . — — Map (db m66365) WM
On Broadway at Main Street (U.S. 281), on the right when traveling east on Broadway.
In the history of most successful communities, there have been defining moments. Streetscape served as such a moment for this community. In the wake of the financial adversity of the preceding decade, this community united in common effort to . . . — — Map (db m59161) HM
On 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Paul J Burnor Kenneth W Fisher
John R Brown Harold L Hadden
John M Williams Raymond E Nelson
Frank O'Neil Ellis W Conrad
Frank W Steed Burrel S Lewis
James R McFayden — — Map (db m66878) WM
On 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
"The Chief" Hay John Froehlich
Frank Pettibone John Pearson
James Hunter "Hap" Owens
Robert Beals Robert Thill
Charles Burton Bill Bostick
Al Ruester — — Map (db m66368) WM
On 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
John A Dunn* Arwin C Hook*
John J Buckley III* Rufus E. S. Henry*
Edward C. Johnston John T Juracek Jr*
James E O'Donnell Philip Wolk
Loney G Boggess Ralph L Heffernan
Lloyd G McNamee — — Map (db m66269) WM
On 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue, on the right when traveling west.
Nicolas Van Wingerden
William C Jennings* Wendell F Geiwitz*
Albert E Woltz* Uline C Miller
Thomas J Maxham* Samuel E Davis*
Kenneth C Carlson* Rex T Phelps*
Martin T Warner Scott C Baker* — — Map (db m64300) WM
Near Main Street (U.S. 281) at Forest Avenue, on the right when traveling north.
(east side)Dedicated to the Veterans of All Wars May 26, 1935 (west side)Erected by Morrison-McFadden Post № 3111 Great Bend, Kansas — — Map (db m156307) WM
On 6th Street west of Airport Road/SW 40th Avenue when traveling west.
Thomas Welch James Johnson
Robert McKay George Glover
Charles Vail Robert McInerny
Allan Hanson James Jones
Walter Grouten James Vasbinder
Bob Kilburn Hugh Polson
Am Reinhard — — Map (db m64286) WM
On Kansas Avenue just north of Lakin Avenue, on the left when traveling north.
In the 1800s, the Santa Fe Trail was the Interstate-70 of the American West, and Conestoga wagons were its freight-hauling tractor trailers. Between 1822 and 1879, the trail was a commercial thoroughfare between Missouri and Santa Fe, guiding . . . — — Map (db m302743) HM
