 In 1939 , after three years of construction , Hickam Field opened . The Army transferred its operations there , leaving Luke Field under Navy control . The latter was renamed Naval Air Station Ford Island , and became the headquarters of Patrol Wing 2 ; its former namesake was re @-@ honored with a new base , Luke Air Force Base in Arizona . A September 8 , 1939 , presidential emergency proclamation spurred the rapid construction of new facilities to prepare the island for additional operations . This included additional barracks , a new assembly and repair hangar , an administration building , a dispensary , a control tower , a laundry and a theater . At the height of World War II , over 40 @,@ 000 people lived or worked on the island . 
