K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base

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K. I. Sawyer Air Force Base is a decommissioned U.S. Air Force base in Marquette County, Michigan, south of the city of Marquette. The base, near the center of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, closed in 1995. The county airport, Sawyer International, now occupies a portion of the base and has scheduled airline flights and significant general aviation activity. The elevation at the passenger terminal is 1,190 feet (362 m) AMSL, about 600 feet (183 m) above Lake Superior, which is fifteen miles (24 km) north of the base.

It is a census-designated place (CDP) used for statistical purposes. As of the 2000 census, the CDP population was 1,443.

The former base is located in the southeast corner of Sands Township, with small portions in West Branch Township and Forsyth Township.

1 History
- 1.1 Closure
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

K.I Sawyer Air Force Base was named for Kenneth Ingalls Sawyer, a former Marquette County road commissioner who proposed an airport for the area, about twenty miles (32 km) south of the city of Marquette. The airport was built in the 1940s and leased to the Air Force in 1955. K.I. Sawyer Airport opened on April 8, 1956. Originally, it was an Air Defense Command base employing the SAGE system and fighter interceptor aircraft to deter a Soviet bomber attack. The first aircraft were F-102 Delta Daggers from Kinross AFB, which were temporarily stationed at Sawyer. In 1959, the 62nd Fighter Interceptor Squadron from O'Hare in Chicago was transferred, bringing their F-101B Voodoo's to the base. The official opening of K.I. Sawyer AFB occurred on May 8, 1959.

The Strategic Air Command (SAC) became an operational tenant in August 1960, with the arrival of KC-135A refueling tankers. Twelve months later, the latest (and last model) of the B-52 series, the B-52H, arrived at Sawyer along with 410th Bomb Wing. In January 1964, operational control of the base was transferred to SAC.

The initial purpose of the Cold War-era base was to act as a fighter-interceptor defense against an enemy bomber attack; later as a strategic (nuclear) deterrent with the B-52, both of which would operate over the shortest route: over the North Pole and through Canada. K.I. Sawyer was one of numerous B-52 bases across the U.S., many close to the Canadian border, ranging from Fairchild AFB near Spokane in the west, to Loring AFB in northeastern Maine.

Before receiving the KC-135 tanker and heavy B-52 bomber aircraft of the Strategic Air Command, an all-weather, heavy-duty concrete runway was built, measuring 24 inches (61 cm) thick, 150 feet (46 m) wide. It was extended in 1959 to over 12,300 feet (3,750 m). There are also 75 foot (23 m) shoulders on each side of the runway, providing a paved width of 300 feet (91 m).

In 1971, the 62nd Fighter Interceptor Squadron and its F-101B Voodoo was replaced with a new squadron and aircraft. The new squadron was the 87th FIS, the "Red Bulls," which flew the F-106A Delta Dart until departing in 1985. In 1974-75, K.I. Sawyer temporarily hosted the high-speed FB-111 bomber, on satellite alert from Pease AFB in New Hampshire.

K.I. Sawyer was one of three SAC bases in northern Michigan that operated the B-52. The other two were Kincheloe AFB to the east, near Kinross, south of Sault Ste. Marie (closed in 1977), and Wurtsmith AFB, in the northeast of Michigan's Lower Peninsula, near Oscoda, which closed in 1993.

[edit] Closure

In 1992, the Air Force reorganized, and K.I. Sawyer came under the direction of the new Air Combat Command (ACC). The following year, the base closure committee of the federal government (BRAC 1993) selected the base for deactivation. The KC-135 tankers left in 1993, and the B-52H's were split between the ACC's two remaining B-52 bases, Minot AFB in northern North Dakota, and Barksdale AFB near Shreveport, Louisiana. The last B-52 departed in November 1994, and K.I. Sawyer AFB was officially closed at the end of September 1995.

K.I. Sawyer was a favorite base among the SAC community. Although isolated and definitely northern, it was an attractive base for its pleasing North Woods location and its proximity to outdoor activities off the base, including hunting, fishing, boating, and winter sports (including Marquette Mountain), as well as the venues on site (base lake, ski hill, and others). There was an abundance of lake effect snow but not the bitter sub-zero temperatures and wind chills and hot summers of the tree-sparse North Dakota bases, or the confinement of the bases in the more established communities of the northeastern U.S.

A portion of the working section of K.I. Sawyer AFB has been converted into Sawyer International Airport, which replaced the smaller Marquette County Airport, just southwest of Marquette, as the region's primary civilian airport. Sawyer International opened its passenger terminal for service in September 1999.

In recent years, a group of local citizens interested in preserving the historical significance of the base have collected six aircraft of the types used actively at various times through the base's history to be displayed near the airport. The program is known as the "Sawyer 6" project.

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 8.5 square miles (21.9 km²). 8.4 square miles (21.8 km²) of it is land and 0.04 mi² (0.1 km²) of it (0.24%) is water.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census ² of 2000, there were 1,443 people, 501 households, and 360 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 66.0/km² (171.0/mi²). There were 1,659 housing units at an average density of 75.9/km² (196.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the base was 90.23% White, 0.69% African American, 3.47% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 1.18% from other races, and 4.09% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.15% of the population.

There were 501 households out of which 55.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.9% were married couples living together, 19.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 17.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 2.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.88 and the average family size was 3.27.

In the CDP, the population was spread out with 38.5% under the age of 18, 12.3% from 18 to 24, 37.8% from 25 to 44, 9.1% from 45 to 64, and 2.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 25 years. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $26,550, and the median income for a family was $26,979. Males had a median income of $27,679 versus $18,333 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $10,029. About 24.4% of families and 26.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.6% of those under age 18 and 31.3% of those age 65 or over.