at Evergreen Cemetery in Tucson. He was survived by his widow, his parents, and a brother, Wilton. Davis' father was in attendance at the 1925 dedication of the base, as was Governor G.W.P. Hunt, who spoke at the dedication. Origins In 1919, the Tucson Chamber of Commerce aviation committee established the nation's first municipally owned airfield at the current site of the Tucson Rodeo Grounds. The rapid increase in aviation activities meant a move in 1927 to the site which is now Davis–Monthan Air Force Base. The City of Tucson acquired land southeast of town for a runway and dedicated the field in 1925. Charles Lindbergh, fresh from his nonstop crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, flew his Spirit of St. Louis to Tucson in 1927 to dedicate the airport at Davis–Monthan Field, then the largest municipal airport in the United States. Military presence at the field began when Sergeant Simpson relocated his fuel and service operation to the site on 6 October 1927. He kept a log containing names of the field's customers, including Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Benjamin Foulois, and Jimmy Doolittle. Doolittle, awarded the Medal of Honor for his 1942 Tokyo raid, was the first military customer at the field on 9 October 1927. The combination of civil and military operations worked well until the early 1940s, when military requirements began to require the relocation of civil aviation activities. World War II Davis–Monthan Airport became Tucson Army Air Field in 1940, as the United States prepared for World War II. The first assigned U.S. Army Air Corps units were the 1st Bomb Wing, 41st Bomb Group and 31st Air Base Group, activating on 30 April 1941 with Lieutenant Colonel Ames S. Albro Sr. as commanding officer. In its military role, the base became known as Davis–Monthan Army Air Field on 3 December 1941. U.S. Army Air Forces leaders then utilized the airfield for heavy bomber operation, sending Douglas B-18 Bolo, Consolidated B-24 Liberator, and Boeing B-29 Superfortress bombers, for training and observation missions. Among the bombardment groups trained at the base during the war: 34th Bombardment (Heavy) 13 May – 4 July 1942 94th Bombardment (Heavy) August – 1 November 1942 302nd Bombardment (Heavy) 23 June – 30 July 1942 308th Bombardment (Heavy) 20 June – 1 October 1942 380th Bombardment (Heavy) 4 November – 2 December 1942 382nd Bombardment (Heavy) 23 January – 5 April 1943 389th Bombardment