MOULTRIE — After years of research and months of planning, arrangements for the dedication of the Spence Field Memorial Historical Marker have been finalized for Tuesday, Sept. 26.

The memorial service will begin at 11 a.m. in the Farm Press Building at Spence Field, located near the Flight Tower. The dedication of the marker will immediately follow at the base of the Flight Tower. The marker will pay tribute to the 62 pilots killed while training at Spence Field during World War II between 1942-45.

The project is the brainchild of local history enthusiast Bill McLean. Realizing he needed help to accomplish his goal of making sure the sacrifice of these young men was remembered, McLean enlisted the help of the John Benning Chapter, National Society Daughters of the American Revolution.

“When Bill asked us to help him, we didn’t hesitate,” said Chapter Regent Nancy Coleman. “The project touches all three of the tenets of the DAR mission: historic preservation, education and patriotism. This is one of the most meaningful projects our chapter has undertaken.”

McLean started researching the Spence Field fatalities after someone had requested assistance in locating information about another crash at Spence Field, Coleman said. That piqued his interest, and he began researching and eventually found 62 air cadets had died when training at Spence Field. All the training accidents were verified with online military records, Moultrie Observer archives and a book borrowed from the Library of Congress.

Once DAR was involved, the City of Moultrie and the Colquitt County Commission were contacted for their assistance in securing the historic marker. Students in the Chick-fil-A Leader Academy at Colquitt County High School also raised funds for the marker as its Impact Project.

DAR members put their research and genealogy skills to work to locate family members of the pilots. According to Jean Gay, first vice regent and project co-chair along with McLean, families of all 62 pilots have been located. “This is quite an accomplishment after 80 years,”

Gay said. “We often started with just the pilot’s name and hometown and sometimes his parents’ names.”

McLean said that once family members were located, many wouldn’t answer phone calls or emails thinking it was some kind of scam. Eventually, all families responded, and McLean talked to each family. At last count, 55 family members of 19 pilots are coming from 16 states.

Most of the pilots were not married. Evan Orme was the exception. He was married and had a 2-year-old daughter when his plane crashed in December 1944. That daughter is among the family members planning to attend the marker ceremony. She told McLean that this project had helped her learn a lot about the father she really never knew.

The ceremony will begin promptly at 11 a.m. Moody Air Force Base will provide military honors. The names of all 62 pilots will be called as 48-star U.S. flags are placed in their memory. A representative from the World War II Flight Training Museum in Douglas will be present with memorabilia from this time period. Douglas was a basic training facility; Spence Field was advanced training.

Following the dedication, a luncheon will be held for family members sponsored by local citizens. A recruiting film starring Jimmy Stewart will be shared with the family to give them an idea what it was like to be in the Army Air Corps at that time. Each family will be presented a tribute book prepared by DAR featuring a picture of each pilot as found in yearbooks housed in the Museum of Colquitt County History. Accident reports from the Moultrie Observer, an obituary, if one was found, and other information provided by family members will be included.

After the luncheon, family members will be invited to take a bus tour of Spence Field to view the runway and facilities where their loved ones lived, worked, played, worshipped – and died. The Museum of Colquitt County History will be open for family members interested in viewing the museum’s collection of Spence Field artifacts.

“This project is far greater than anything we might have imagined when we started,” said McLean.

Coleman added that the community has really taken an interest in the project and has been generous in its support.

“Most people know that Spence Field was once used as an airfield during World War II and later during the Korean War,” she said. “Most didn’t know 62 young men gave their last full measure of devotion. That makes Spence Field hallowed ground.”