Wallace Air Station
Encyclopedia
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
(USAF) facility located in San Fernando, La Union, Luzon
Luzon
Luzon is the largest island in the Philippines. It is located in the northernmost region of the archipelago, and is also the name for one of the three primary island groups in the country centered on the Island of Luzon...
Island, The Philippines.
History and Background
Wallace Air Station occupied 101 hectares of base land located in the Philippine province of La Union and was acquired in 1903 for the United States CavalryUnited States Cavalry
The United States Cavalry, or U.S. Cavalry, is the designation of the mounted force of the United States Army. The role of the U.S. Cavalry is reconnaissance, security and mounted assault. Cavalry has served as a part of the Army forces in every war in which the United States has participated...
. Originally, Camp Wallace, the facility was named in honor of Second Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
George W. Wallace
George W. Wallace
George Weed Wallace was an Second Lieutenant in the United States Army and a Medal of Honor recipient for his actions in the Philippine-American War. Wallace rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. He is buried at San Francisco National Cemetery.-Medal of Honor citation:Rank and organization:...
, a Medal of Honor
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed by the President, in the name of Congress, upon members of the United States Armed Forces who distinguish themselves through "conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his or her...
recipient from the U.S. 9th Infantry Regiment
U.S. 9th Infantry Regiment
The 9th Infantry Regiment is one of the oldest and most decorated active duty infantry units in the United States Army.- Early organizations :...
who was killed in action
Killed in action
Killed in action is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces at the hands of hostile forces. The United States Department of Defense, for example, says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to...
on 4 March 1900 in the Philippines. In November 1903, President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore "Teddy" Roosevelt was the 26th President of the United States . He is noted for his exuberant personality, range of interests and achievements, and his leadership of the Progressive Movement, as well as his "cowboy" persona and robust masculinity...
signed an executive order establishing Camp Wallace and Camp John Hay in Baguio City
Baguio City
The City of Baguio is a highly urbanized city in northern Luzon in the Philippines. Baguio City was established by Americans in 1900 at the site of an Ibaloi village known as Kafagway...
.
848th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron
While the land was originally purchased for use by the United States Cavalry, it was later transferred to the United States Air Force and it was last home to the 848th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron, which provided logistics and administrative support to other radar detachmentsIt was, much later, the home of the 848th Aircraft Control and Warning Squadron which provided logistics and administrative support to other radar detachments under its chain of command, and finally the 848th Air Defense Squadron. Wallace Air Station was deactivated in 1991 following the closing or transfer of all American Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
facilities in the Philippines.
Wallace Drone Launch Facility
Wallace was also home to a Drone Launch FacilityUnmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
, which was run by an Air Force contractor. This airfield provided Pacific Air Forces pilots with live-fire training. Since the drones were not usually destroyed when they are shot down, there was a need to recover them for reuse. Hence, there was a drone recovery boat with its home port in the local harbor at nearby San Fernando.
When the drone was "shot down" by a fighter's missile, the recovery boat was joined by numerous fishing boats, which were outrigger bamboo canoes, in the chase to get to the drone. It seemed that many of the local people considered the drone to be "fair game" for salvage purposes, and they figured that it might be worth a few dollars.
Other Operations
Wallace Air Station was also home to a number of fuel storage facilities, and was able to provide fuel for the occasional helicopterHelicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by one or more engine-driven rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forwards, backwards, and laterally...
, usually a few CH-3s from the Clark Air Base
Clark Air Base
Clark Air Base is a former United States Air Force base on Luzon Island in the Philippines, located 3 miles west of Angeles City, about 40 miles northwest of Metro Manila. Clark Air Base was an American military facility from 1903 to 1991...
, or an occasional United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
helicopter from the Subic Bay Naval Base. UH-1 helicopters from the Philippine Air Force
Philippine Air Force
The Philippine Air Force is the air force of the Republic of the Philippines, and one of the three main services of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Its official name in Filipino is Hukbong Himpapawid ng Pilipinas....
would also show up, but not too often, since there as there was not enough budget for operating them. For larger aircraft such as C-12
C-12 Huron
The C-12 Huron is the military designation for a series of twin-engine turboprop aircraft based on the Beechcraft Super King Air and Beechcraft 1900. C-12 variants are used by the United States Air Force, United States Army, United States Navy and United States Marine Corps...
s or C-130s, the USAF would always use the San Fernando Airport.
Wallace was also home to Voice of America
Voice of America
Voice of America is the official external broadcast institution of the United States federal government. It is one of five civilian U.S. international broadcasters working under the umbrella of the Broadcasting Board of Governors . VOA provides a wide range of programming for broadcast on radio...
broadcast equipment, as well as various Philippine Air Force antennas
Antenna (radio)
An antenna is an electrical device which converts electric currents into radio waves, and vice versa. It is usually used with a radio transmitter or radio receiver...
.
Transfer to the Philippines
The facility was formally turned-over by the United States to the Republic of the Philippines on 16 September 1991. At present, the Bases Conversion Development Authority is converting this area into a tourismTourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
and industrial estate.