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For most people in Southwest Florida, the name Buckingham is just one more dot on a map--a rural area east of U.S. Interstate 75. But for a few years, it was so much more. Starting in 1942, it was the site of the Buckingham Army Air Field--home to some 16,000 men and women supporting the United States' World War II efforts. Airplanes roared in the skies over Lee County and reflected off the azure waters of the Gulf of Mexico as tens of thousands of young men trained as aerial gunners. Learning to target and bring down enemy aircraft with their guns was critical to America's success in both the European and Pacific theaters. On the ground, trucks rumbled across the mammoth base, soldiers marched in review under the hot Florida sun, and an entire town sprang up on what was once swampland. Barracks were built, along with stores, nightclubs, churches, and even a hospital with its own baby ward. Today the memories of Buckingham Army Air Field can be found hiding in plain sight, including a working airport that was once the heart of the base.

The search began in 1946 for a location to conduct long-range missile tests. Cape Canaveral was chosen in part due to a nearby deactivated military base that could support a long-range proving ground for test firing missiles. The base, originally known as Banana River Naval Air Station, was eventually renamed Patrick Air Force Base in honor of a distinguished Army general. Today, Patrick is part of Air Force Space Command, and it is operated by the 45th Space Wing that also oversees launch facilities at nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with the vision of "World's Premier Gateway to Space."