Call Field
Wichita Falls, Texas
A Field of Standard J-1's at Call Field, Wichita Falls, Texas, 1918 Call Field
Coordinates	33°52′18″N 98°33′18″W / 33.87167°N 98.55500°W / 33.87167; -98.55500 (Call Field)
Type	Pilot/Observer training airfield
Site information
Controlled by	Air Service, United States Army
Condition	Redeveloped into urban area
Site history
Built	1918
In use	1918–1921
Battles/wars	World War I
Garrison information
Garrison	Training Section, Air Service

Call Field is a former World War I military airfield, located 4.6 miles (7.4 km) southwest of Wichita Falls, Texas. It operated as a training field for the Air Service, United States Army between 1917 until 1919.

The airfield was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established in 1918 after the United States entry into World War I. The field was named for Loren H. Call, a native of Washington, D.C., who was killed in a plane crash near Texas City, Texas on July 9, 1913.

In 1916 the Army announced its intention of establishing a series of camps to train prospective pilots. Frank Kell of Wichita Falls organized an effort to attract the army to the city. By 17 August 1917, Kell and others successfully raised $35,000 and had a commitment from the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railroad to extend tracks to the proposed site of the camp. On 27 August construction began. In November, when 85 percent of the work was completed, Maj. J. B. Brooks arrived to inspect the facilities. On 10 November he was named commander. On 29 November the first six army pilots arrived, and the field had 600 pilots by late December. On 15 January 1918 the army gave final approval of Call Field.

The training camp had forty-six buildings, which included twelve hangars that housed four to eight planes each, a hospital, and six barracks that held 175 men each. In May 1918 four additional hangars and a row of lofts to hold carrier pigeons were built. During its operation 3,000 officers, cadets, and enlisted men were stationed at Call Field, and 500 officers received their wings there. Two squadrons left the training facility for overseas duty. Thirty-four men lost their lives during training exercises, the smallest number of fatalities of any training center.

Training units assigned to Call Field:^[1]

• 154th Aero Squadron, November 1917

Re-designated as Squadron "A", July-November 1918

• 192d Aero Squadron, December 1917

Re-designated as Squadron "B", July-November 1918

• 198th Aero Squadron, December 1917

Re-designated as Squadron "C", July-November 1918

• Squadron "D"

Transferred from Barron Field, Texas, September-November 1918

• Squadron "E"

Transferred from Carruthers Field, Texas, September-November 1918

Service units trained at Call Field:^[1]

• 73d Aero Squadron (II), March-July 1918; Deployed to American Expeditionary Forces, France
• 74th Aero Squadron, March-August 1918; Transferred to Hazelhurst Field, New York

After the war the training center closed. The last military personnel left on 1 October 1919. In 1919 and 1920 Ernest Hall, a former instructor at Call Field, operated a flying school at the facility. The Wichita Polo Club briefly used a portion of the land for its polo field. In 1937 the Wichita Falls Junior Chamber of Commerce and American Legion erected a small marker near the gates of the old field in memory of the thirty-four men who were killed during training. For a number of years the site was the scene of memorial services by the Call Field Veterans Association.

Today, the name is perpetuated by a street in Wichita Falls named Call Field Road.

• List of Training Section Air Service airfields

 This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency