Miller Field was a

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

facility in the neighborhood of

New Dorp New Dorp is a neighborhood on the East Shore of Staten Island, New York City, United States. New Dorp is bounded by Mill Road on the southeast, Tysens Lane on the southwest, Amboy and Richmond Roads on the northwest, and Bancroft Avenue on the n ...

, Staten Island, New York. It was founded in November 1919 and completed in 1921.

Etymology

Miller Field was named after Captain James Ely Miller (1883–1918), commanding officer of the 95th Aero Squadron in the Air Service of the AEF, who died in combat on March 9, 1918 over

Rheims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He was the first United States aviator killed in action while serving with an American military aviation unit. Before World War I, Miller had been vice president of the Columbia Trust Company of New York and manager of its Fifth Avenue office, who trained at his own expense to earn his pilot's license and Reserve Military Aviator rating with the Governors Island Training Corps in 1916. He was also an organizer, along with Major

Raynal Bolling Raynal Cawthorne BollingThe given name "Raynal" is pronounced as in "canal." (September 1, 1877 – March 26, 1918) was the first high-ranking officer of the United States Army to be killed in combat in World War I. A corporate lawyer by vocation ...

, of the 1st Reserve Aero Squadron, the first unit of what would eventually become the Air Force Reserve Command. ''Note:'' This includes ''See also:''

History

When built in 1921, Miller Field was the only coastal defense air station in the eastern United States and was part of the network of fortifications around New York City. It was built on land formerly belonging to the

Vanderbilt family The Vanderbilt family is an American family who gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthr ...

. It had a grass

runway According to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a runway is a "defined rectangular area on a land aerodrome prepared for the landing and takeoff of aircraft". Runways may be a man-made surface (often asphalt, concre ...

(and was the last airport with a grass runway in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

), ramps for

seaplanes A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteris ...

, and four hangars for planes. Miller Field was used for anti-aircraft fire and training

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

personnel. Miller Field closed as an airbase in 1969. US Army 11th Special Forces Reserve was stationed at Miller Field from March 22, 1963 to August 1, 1970. The Field was the site of the

Elm Tree Beacon Light Elm Tree Beacon Light served as the front range with New Dorp Light as the rear to mark Swash Channel. The channel is now marked by Staten Island Light The Staten Island Range Light, also known as the Ambrose Channel Range Light, is the rear rang ...

, a lighthouse from 1856 through 1924 when it was abandoned (and later rebuilt). The light had replaced a prominent elm tree. The Miller Army Air Field Historic District was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1980.

Accidents and incidents

On December 16, 1960, a

United Airlines United Airlines, Inc. (commonly referred to as United), is a major American airline headquartered at the Willis Tower in Chicago, Illinois.

Douglas DC-8 The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company. After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in July ...

and a Trans World Airlines Lockheed Super Constellation collided just west of the field, with the Constellation crashing into the northwest corner of the airport while the DC-8 crashed into

Park Slope Park Slope is a neighborhood in northwestern Brooklyn, New York City, within the area once known as South Brooklyn. Park Slope is roughly bounded by Prospect Park and Prospect Park West to the east, Fourth Avenue to the west, Flatbush A ...

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

. The collision was the world's worst airline disaster to that point, with 134 killed.

Current use

Miller Field is a part of the Staten Island Unit of the

Gateway National Recreation Area Gateway National Recreation Area is a U.S. National Recreation Area in New York City and Monmouth County, New Jersey. It provides recreational opportunities that are not commonly found in a dense urban environment, including ocean swimming, bir ...

, which is managed by the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propert ...

. The park includes baseball and soccer fields, and hosts the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

in the summer. The field is directly east of

New Dorp High School New Dorp High School, commonly referred to as New Dorp or NDHS, is a public school in New Dorp on the East Shore of the New York City borough of Staten Island in the New Dorp neighborhood. The school is administered by the New York City Departme ...

In culture

In the documentary film, ''Glory Daze: The Life and Times of

Michael Alig Michael Alig (April 29, 1966 – December 24, 2020) was an American club promoter and convicted felon. He was one of the ringleaders of the Club Kids, a group of young New York City clubgoers who became a cultural phenomenon in the late 1980s a ...

'' (2015), the police recount the discovery, by a group of children at Oakwood Beach, at Miller Field, of a box containing the remains of Andre "Angel" Melendez, in March 1996. (''American Justice'' reports the box was found in April 1996.) Melendez had been murdered by Alig and his roommate, Robert "Freeze" Riggs, his legs dismembered, and his upper body enclosed in a box they enjoined an unwitting taxi driver's help to transport and throw into the

Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...

, near

Tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

nightclub. A tropical storm helped propel the cork-lined, floating box to Staten Island.

References

External links

Official National Park Service website

Photos of Miller Field
{{authority control Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New York (state) Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City Historic districts in Staten Island Parks in Staten Island Gateway National Recreation Area Airports on the National Register of Historic Places National Register of Historic Places in Staten Island Transportation buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City Defunct airports in New York City New Dorp, Staten Island