Santa Ana Army Air Base (SAAB)

Santa Ana Army Air Base was established in 1941 and provided 9 weeks of basic training to Air Force Cadets. At the end of 1943, the base had already trained 57,985 cadets. From November 1943, personnel of the Women's Air Force Service Pilots (WASP) and Women's Army Corp (WAC) were also trained here. During the war, the base was expanded and was also an Overseas Replacement Depot (ORD). At the end of 1945, the base was a Redistribution Center for returning Air Force personnel and Japanese foreign nationals were also temporarily housed here. One of the base barracks has been preserved and is located in the Memorial Garden.

The western portion of the land that was the SAAAB is currently Orange County Fairgrounds, and the eastern portion is currently John Wayne Airport

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: TracesOfWar.com
• Richard E. Osborne, World War II Sites in the United States - A Tour Guide & Directory