Aviation Service and Supply Co. at Bowerman Field — 5/14/1948 — #L31R5F1_1
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Photograph Copyright Anderson & Middleton Company
United States — Washington (State) — Hoquiam
A view by Stan Spiegle.
Thanks to Sam Talley, who adds: "In the late 1930's at the age of 16, my father Roy Talley of Aberdeen was the youngest person to get a private pilots license through Bowerman Field Aviation school."
Talley adds: “Moon Island Airport, or Bowerman Field as we know it today, has been around since the 1940’s and has gone through many changes in its history. In 1942, during World War II, the United States Army granted funds to expand the Moon Island Airport. After the war was over in 1946, Robert Bowerman, a fighter pilot during the war, returned home and formed Western Washington Airways. He worked hard with his company to promote Moon Island Airport. In 1953 Robert Bowerman was honored for his work there and for his service to his country when Moon Island Airport was renamed Bowerman Field Airport. In the 1950’s Bowerman Field was owned by Grays Harbor County but the Port of Grays Harbor occasionally gave money to aid in the upkeep of the airport. Early in 1962 ownership of Bowerman Field would change as the Port of Grays Harbor took over its full ownership and operation. In 1971 the Commissioners of the Port of Grays Harbor decided to upgrade Bowerman Field and add an Instrument Landing System (ILS). Port Manager E. W. Clocksin stated 'this system would make Bowerman the best-equipped airfield of its size and use on the West Coast'. The ILS was installed in late1992 after funding and studies were completed."
