Otis Field

Establishment

Otis Air National Guard Base is named for pilot, flight surgeon, and eminent Boston City Hospital surgeon Lt. Frank "Jesse" Otis. He was a member of the 101st Observation Squadron who was killed on 11 January 1937 when his Douglas O-46A crashed at Hennepin, Illinois while on a cross-country training mission. In 1938, the landing field area at Camp Edwards was named Otis Field in his memory. Ten years later, the base was renamed Otis Air Force Base in his honor. During the Korean War, it was used by the Army to provide basic training. Until 1973, it was the largest Aerospace Defense Command base in the world. During World War II, the field was known as Naval Auxiliary Air Facility Otis and was a subordinate field for Naval Air Station Quonset Point, Rhode Island.