Archive of Brewer Air Force Base Dedication
Agana, Guam: Department of the Navy, February 15. 1973. Glen. All items in archival sleeves and stored in a 3-ring binder. Unique, one-of-a-kind archive of photos and ephemera documenting the dedication of Brewer Field in Agana, Guam. Fifty (50) 8" x 10", B&W and color official photographs of the dedication ceremony, includes a handful of duplicates. All photos are stamped Fleet Air Photographic Laboratory on the rear. Twenty-eight (28) mostly 4.5" x 3.25" photos of the Brewer family casually enjoying their visit to Guam. Also included is a newspaper announcement of Cmdr. Brewer's sacrifice and the role his mother played in the war. Two official Naval publications announcing the dedication of the Airfield. Also included is a 4 pp. typed letter by Morris Markey, describing in detail the events of the Essex warship the day of the battle. Markey was one of the original contributors to the New Yorker magazine and widely respected war correspondent.
Cmdr. Charles "Charlie" Brewer was from Tulsa, OK and a 1935 graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy at Annapolis. At the time of his death his wife and two young sons, George and Charles were living at Coronado Beach, Calif. All three were invited to the dedication ceremony and featured in many of the photographs.
The former U.S. Navy support base of Naval Air Station (NAS) Agana encompassed approximately 2,000 acres in the central portion of the island of Guam. The original airport was built by the Japanese Navy about 1943, calling the military airfield Guam Dai Ni (Guam No. 2) as part of their defense of the Marianas. After the island was recaptured by American forces in 1944, it was renamed Agana Airfield, due to the proximity of the town. After being repaired in October 1944, the United States Army Air Forces Seventh Air Force used the airfield as a base for the 11th Bombardment Group, which flew B-24 Liberator bombers from the station until being moved to Okinawa in July 1945. With the reassignment of the heavy bombers, the 41st Photographic Reconnaissance Squadron flew long range reconnaissance aircraft (F-4 versions of the P-38 Lightning) from the field until January 1946. In 1947, the USAAF turned over the airfield to the United States Navy, which consolidated its facilities with those at the closing Harmon Air Force Base in 1949, and operated Naval Air Station Agana until it was closed by the 1993 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Commission.
IN 1973 the base name was changed in honor of Commander Charles Walter Brewer, the Naval Aviator who distinguished himself in the great carrier air battle that took place near Guam prior to the island's recapture. Cdr. Brewer was in command of Fighting Squadron 15, leading two separate flights on June 19, 1944, destroying five aircraft before he was downed by enemy fire. Outnumbered by more than 4:1, including 16 Japanese Zero fighter, 45 Zero Bombers and 8 Jill torpedo planes. By the end of the day, the skies over Guam were clear of enemy combatants. Fine. Item #2793
"I would like for Charlie's youngsters to see this letter some day. And for them to know that a War Correspondent who sees many men in battle recognized Commander Brewer at once as a superlative gentleman, a brave warrior, a man unafraid in the midst of the ultimate danger." - M. Markey /s/.
Price: $325.00