Gentile Air Force Station was a USAF installation in

Kettering, Ohio Kettering is a city in Montgomery county in the U.S. state of Ohio. Almost entirely in Montgomery County, it is an inner suburb of Dayton, Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 57,862 (down slightly from 58,453 in 2010), maki ...

, named for World War II fighter ace

Don Gentile Dominic Salvatore "Don" Gentile (December 6, 1920 – January 28, 1951), also known as "Ace of Aces", was a World War II USAAF pilot who surpassed Eddie Rickenbacker's World War I record of 26 downed aircraft. He later served in the post-war U.S. ...

and closed in 1997. Gentile AFS was the site of the Defense Electronics Supply Center (merged with the Defense Construction Supply Center in

Columbus Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to: * Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer * Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio Columbus may also refer to: Places ...

to form the

Defense Supply Center, Columbus The Defense Electronics Supply Center, Columbus (DSCC), is one of three Inventory Control Points of the Defense Logistics Agency. The major organization on base is known as DLA Land and Maritime. Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) is ...

) and its Defense Automatic Addressing System Center. In 1994, Gentile AFS became a

Defense Finance and Accounting Service The Defense Finance and Accounting Service (DFAS) is an agency of the United States Department of Defense (DOD), headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. DFAS was established in 1991 under the authority, direction, and control of the Under Secreta ...

Center facility for the Air Force. After Gentile's closure, the town of Kettering converted the base property into Kettering Business Park. The public artwork Bee Ambitious (2019) by Jes McMillan in the Haverstick neighborhood of

was inspired by the aviation heritage of this station. As of June 2020, City of Kettering is planning to create Gentile Park at the site of Gentile Air Force Station. As of fall of 2023 the development of Gentile Park has begun.

References

Sources

*GlobalSecurity.org: http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/gentile.htm *Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 105 / Thursday, May 30, 1996 / Notices, page 27054, "Record of Decision (ROD) for the Disposal and Reuse of Gentile Air Force Station (AFS), Ohio"* {{coord, 39, 42, 54, N, 84, 9, 4, W, display=title 1942 establishments in Ohio 1997 disestablishments in Ohio Buildings and structures in Montgomery County, Ohio Stations of the United States Air Force Formerly Used Defense Sites Military installations closed in 1997 Kettering, Ohio