Part of the collection of the Sumter Military Museum assembled by Sammy Way on Friday, Dec. 22, 2023. A new home for the museum is being assembled at the Sumter County Museum with state funding (Abraham Kenmore/S.C. Daily Gazette)
SUMTER — During World War II, Shaw Airfield in Sumter was among the finest pilot training centers not just in South Carolina but in the entire Southeast, an Army Air Corps colonel wrote to his superiors in 1944.
That wasn’t just because of the thousands of pilots who trained there during the course of the war but because of the residents outside, Col. B.M. Hovey wrote in his recommendation to make the airfield a permanent Army Air Force base.
“It is my belief that at no other station in the Eastern Flying Training Command did there exist as fine a relationship between the military personnel and the local civilian population as at Shaw Field,” Hovey wrote.
That support, which has continued in the decades since the war ended, was a major reason Sumter was designated the state’s only World War II Heritage City last week. Officials in Sumter County hope the National Park Service designation encourages more tourism while recognizing the work locals have done to preserve the base’s history.
Shaw opened in 1941 outside Sumter city limits with a mission of training pilots for the way — six years before the Air Force was established as a separate military branch.
Sumter was one of three cities nominated in South Carolina, said National Park Service spokesman Jordan Fifer, though he declined to name the other two.
“This is a great honor for our community and a testament to our community motto, ‘Uncommon Patriotism,’ as well as the enduring legacy of our military and veterans,” Sumter Mayor David Merchant, who wrote the city’s application, said in a statement. “This designation will enhance our community efforts to preserve and promote our historical sites, attract visitors and historians, and foster a greater appreciation of our heritage.”
The World War II Heritage City program began in 2019. For a place to be considered, a local official must apply, writing about how the area contributed to the war effort and continues to preserve its history, according to the National Park Service.
“World War II not only impacted those who went to war, but also those who carried on the life and work of the home front,” National Park Service Director Chuck Sams said in a news release. “It’s important we remember that cities and towns both big and small made major contributions at home to the war effort, all of which helped Allied forces defeat the Axis powers.”
Shaw Airfield was what made Sumter stand out. More than 8,600 pilots visited the base for some sort of training during the war. The base was also home to 13 Women Airforce Service Pilots, often called WASPs, who helped train pilots. Only 1,000 or so women were part of the program nationwide.
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“The impact of Shaw during World War II cannot be overstated,” the city’s application reads. “It not only provided essential training and support that were critical to the success of Allied air operations, but it also fostered a sense of duty and service among its personnel. The base’s legacy is reflected in the countless stories of bravery and sacrifice demonstrated by the airmen who passed through its gates.”
Between 1945 and 1946, at the end of the war, the base became a prisoner-of-war encampment, housing about 400 prisoners, wrote retired Air Force Gen. T. Michael Moseley in a letter of support for the designation.
Outside the base, Sumter residents supported the war however they could. Researchers estimate 4,000 or so Sumter residents enlisted in the military during the war — nearly 8% of the county’s population in 1940, according to Census records.
“The number of men and women serving was substantial considering the population of the Sumter community at that time,” local historian Sammy Way, a former high school history teacher and Army veteran, wrote in a letter to the head of the National Park Service.
Groups of residents collected paper and scrap metal to recycle for the war effort. The city grew a Victory Garden to feed residents. High school students invested enough money in bonds and stamps to buy 21 Jeeps for the Army.
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“Sumter served as a model of ‘extraordinary patriotism,’ totally dedicated to the defense and success of this county in its efforts to defeat the Axis powers during World War II,” Way wrote.
Residents often invited pilots in training from Shaw Airfield home for lunch or dinner to help comfort them while they were away from their loved ones, Way said.
“I was a small boy in the 1940s, and I could just imagine seeing young men away from the first time facing what might happen,” Way told the SC Daily Gazette. “And they were taken home and treated like they were home, like this was their family.”
Memorials throughout the city show its continued appreciation for the veterans who trained or lived there.
In front of the Sumter County Courthouse sits a white marble monument engraved with the names of every man killed in action during World War II. A full-scale replica of a “Red Tail” plane honors the Tuskegee Airmen, a group of African American military pilots who fought during the war.
A 30,000-square-foot military museum set to open next year will house the roughly 8,000 items of military memorabilia that Way’s amassed over two decades. He can showcase only a portion of it inside the storefront he operates a few hours a week. The new museum, which will operate as part of the Sumter County Museum, will open with help from $23 million in state tax dollars.
Way hopes the WWII Heritage City designation brings tourists.
The added recognition will only drive more people to Sumter, said Sumter County spokesman Joe Perry.
“It’s just more reason for people to visit Sumter,” Perry said.