Located in Victorville, California, about 75 miles northeast of Los Angeles, George Air Force Base was activated in 1941 to train pilots and bombardiers in preparation for America’s entry into World War II. After the war’s end, the base was placed on standby status and used to store surplus aircraft, and it was later reopened for training fighter pilots.[1]
Through its years of service, George Air Force Base was home to tens of thousands of military personnel and their families and saw countless civilians pass through as visitors and employees. Many of these individuals were later diagnosed with health problems connected to significant toxic exposures, including to asbestos. The contamination found throughout the base included housing and administrative structures. It was also connected to maintenance and repair activities, the storage of aircraft and asbestos-containing parts and equipment, and firefighting activities. The impact of this contamination continues to be seen as more and more Air Force veterans and their family members are diagnosed with mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases.
The History of George Air Force Base
The history of George Air Force Base began in 1940, when civil leaders from Victorville, California approached the U.S. Army with a proposal to develop an airfield in the Mojave Desert. By 1941, the Army agreed and began construction of a 2,200-acre base that was called Victorville Army Flying Field and later renamed Victorville Army Air Field. Activities included the creation of four runways and seven hangars, as well as several sub-bases and auxiliary airfields, barracks, administrative buildings, maintenance shops, and hangars.[2]
As was so often the case in the run-up to World War II, the War Department’s construction policy was to use standardized plans designed to be the “cheapest, temporary character with structural stability only sufficient to meet the needs of the service which the structure is intended to fulfill during the period of its contemplated war use.” Unfortunately for generations of service members to follow, this meant that the structures that they slept in, ate in, received medical treatment in, and that their children attended school in were built with asbestos-containing materials that would sicken them decades later.[2]
From 1942 to 1945, the base was used for advanced flying training, but in 1945 it was placed on standby status and used for surplus aircraft storage. It was reopened in 1950 and renamed George Air Force Base in honor of Brigadier General Harold Huston George, a World War I fighter ace who directed air operations at the beginning of World War II and died in an aircraft accident in 1942 over Australia. After it was reopened, the base continued its mission of flight training through the Cold War. Many bombers, gliders, single-engine, twin-engine, and jet fighter aircraft were flown by the organizations assigned to the base.[2]
George Air Force Base continued operations through Operation Desert Storm when it was home to the 561st Tactical Fighter Squadron which flew over 1,000 combat sorties and the 35th Tactical Fighter Wing which flew over 3,000 combat missions. The base was also active during Operation Desert Shield. Several support agencies were housed there as those divisions were inactivated and redesignated. By 1992, the base was closed. In total, it was operational for more than 34 years.[2]
Following its decommissioning in December 1992, George Air Force Base was named as one of several military bases slated for economic recovery tied to the communities where they were located. To accomplish this mission, the base was put on a fast track for environmental cleanup. Some of the old base housing homes and buildings are being used today by the Army and Marine Corps for urban warfare training, but many more of the base’s structures have been identified as posing serious risks for exposure to asbestos and other toxic materials that were used over its decades of operation.
How Was Asbestos Used at the George Air Force Base?
Over the thirty-four years of its operations, asbestos was used extensively at the George Air Force Base, exposing thousands of service members, their families, and civilian workers to the risk of several serious illnesses. At the time that the base was built and operational, the military did not know that it was carcinogenic and had requested its use in hundreds of applications due to its strength and ability to insulate against heat and flame. Asbestos-containing materials were used in aircraft parts and base construction, as well as in firefighting materials.
From its original groundbreaking to the time that it closed, George Air Force Base grew to encompass 5,330 acres, with runways, 6.3 million square feet of ramp space and associated facilities, 1,641 units of housing, 14 dormitory buildings, a hospital with a dental clinic, and various office and industrial structures. Nearly all of these buildings were constructed using asbestos-contaminated gypsum board and concrete asbestos, and asbestos-contaminated countless parts of the base infrastructure and aircraft insulation and maintenance and repair materials.
Asbestos-containing materials and parts used at George Air Force Base included:
- Adhesives
- Aircraft
- Aircraft Brakes
- Automobile and truck brakes
- Cargo bay insulation Adhesives
- Caulking
- Ceiling tiles
- Cement foundations
- Drywall
- Electrical wiring
- Epoxies
- Fireproofing materials
- Floor tiles
- Gaskets
- Heat shields for aircraft engines
- Heating systems in the cockpit
- HVAC systems
- Insulation materials
- Paint
- Pipes
- Plumbing
- Roofing
- Roofing adhesives
- Sealants
- Vinyl floor tiles
- Wallboard
Who Was at Risk of Asbestos Exposure at George Air Force Base?
George Air Force Base has the unhappy distinction of having been one of the most contaminated military sites in the United States. Asbestos was one of many contaminants that have sickened the tens of thousands of Air Force veterans, their family members, and civilian workers that passed through between 1941 and 1980. Though the earliest asbestos exposure impacted those tasked with originally building the base, years of expansion and renovation placed construction workers, plumbers, painters, electricians, and others responsible for buildings and maintaining its infrastructure at risk.
Also exposed were those who lived, worked, ate in, or attended school in the asbestos-contaminated buildings, as well as the personnel who were engaged in the base’s flying mission: Whether pilots, maintenance crew members, or those responsible for warehousing and retrieving asbestos-contaminated parts, anybody who worked in proximity to the carcinogenic material was put in danger of inhaling its microscopic, and so was any family member who might have suffered secondary exposure to fibers carried home on their skin, hair, or clothing.
Those who were most at risk of asbestos exposure at Geprge Air Force Base included:
- Sheet Metal Workers
- Welders
- Electricians
- Contractors
- Construction Workers
- Airmen
- Boiler Workers
- Pipefitters
- Machinists
- Carpenters
- Pilots
- Aircraft Mechanics
- Supply Depot Personnel
Help for George Air Force Base Asbestos Victims
With George Air Force Base operational through the early 1990s and Air Force personnel’s young families having lived on the base, there is good reason to be concerned about the risk of asbestos-related disease. If you or someone you love has been diagnosed with malignant mesothelioma, asbestos-related lung cancer, COPD, or asbestosis, you are not alone. There is help available through the U.S. Veterans Administration, and you may also be eligible to seek compensation through the American justice system.
The best place to start is to reach out to an experienced asbestos attorney who can advise you about the options that are available to you. In addition to filing a disability compensation claim with the VA, you may be able to file a personal injury lawsuit against the asbestos companies that supplied asbestos-contaminated materials to George Air Force Base. Alternatively, you may be able to file a claim with some of the asbestos bankruptcy trust funds that have been established by asbestos companies.
