In cross hairs:
Air Force base in Guam named after Racine World War II veteran who went missing in 1945 is now under threat from North Korean missiles
Andersen Air Force Base in Guam, named for a Racine native, finds itself under threat.
When James Roy Andersen stepped onto a B-24 at the air base he helped create on Guam in February 1945, he had a bright future ahead of him.
The Racine native had earned his brigadier general’s star a month earlier, and the bases built through his planning on the strategic Pacific island of Guam were filled with B-29 bombers thundering down the runways for targets in Japan.
Andersen, 41, was on his way to Hawaii with his boss, Army Air Forces Lt. Gen. Millard Harmon, to strategize the next phase of the war that included plans to invade Japan and drop a new weapon. Andersen was one of a select handful in the American military who knew about the atomic bomb project.
The B-24 never arrived in Hawaii. After Andersen vanished, North Field was renamed in his honor. He’s believed to be the highest ranking Wisconsinite serving in the Army or Army Air Corps killed during World War II.
Now, Andersen Air Force Base is in the cross hairs of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. As threat levels escalated this week between North Korea and the U.S., Pyongyang said that it was considering hitting Andersen Air Force Base with medium or longrange intercontinental ballistic missiles to send a warning signal to the US.
And on Thursday, North Korea announced that it has finalized plans to fire four missiles into the water near Guam, where 7,000 American military personnel are stationed.
Andersen Air Force Base on the north end of the island is home to fighter jets and bombers, and because it’s a strategic launch point for operations over the Korean Peninsula, it would likely be among the locations for a first-strike offensive against North Korea.
The man the air base is named after left his home town to attend West Point, graduating in 1926. He became a pilot, taught in the Department of Chemistry and Electricity at West Point and was the first director of the air training field at West Point. In 1944, then a colonel, Andersen was transferred to Hawaii as chief of staff for the Army Air Forces, Pacific Ocean Area, and was the principal planner in moving the headquarters to Guam.
“Wisconsin should be very proud that such an important installation was named for one of its sons and continues to serve well to this day on the other side of the world,” said Tom Mueller, author of “Duty, Honor, Country, Wisconsin,” a 2013 book about Wisconsin service members killed in battle, including Andersen.
Andersen spent months organizing the construction of three airfields on Guam; the first B-29 Superfortresses began flying combat missions on Feb. 25, 1945. The next day Andersen and Harmon left Guam on a flight to Hawaii, their B-24 disappearing after a stop at the island of Kwajalein.
The Racine Journal Times reported on March 5, 1945, that “when last heard from, the bomber reported ample fuel to complete the flight and was traveling in good weather over calm seas. When the plane failed to respond to communications ... all available naval ships and planes were dispatched to join the search.”
A few years after World War II ended, airfields on Guam were named after Andersen and Harmon. Three days after North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950, B-29 bombers were deployed from Andersen Air Force Base to bomb targets throughout South Korea.
Only Andersen Air Force Base remains on Guam today. “It’s ironic that a base was named after Andersen and for his boss but they ended up closing the one named after Harmon and keeping his,” said Mueller. “But Andersen’s base proved to be more strategic.”