March 15, 1945

The Walnut Ridge Army Flying School in Lawrence County was decommissioned. But as World War II ended, the U.S. Army Air Forces and the Reconstruction Finance Corporation revived the Walnut Ridge Army Air Field. With the war over, it seemed there would be no more need for so many military aircraft, and since the jet airplane had just been developed, many of them were considered obsolete. The government needed places to store and sell these planes, and Walnut Ridge—an ideal site because of the large land area and large parking ramp—became one such site. An estimated 10,000 to 11,000 warplanes were flown to Walnut Ridge in 1945 and 1946 for storage and sale.