The armed forces in the United States have built a number of military installations in the state of Oklahoma. Some of these units remain in operation. A number of military installations in Oklahoma operated before or during the Civil War era.
USMC Artillery Detachment –
Fort Sill – All Marine Field Artillerymen – both officer and enlisted – are trained at the United States Army Field Artillery Training Center.[9]
Fort Towson (1824–1865). In
Choctaw County. Established as a fortification on the international boundary with
Mexico (Texas), and as a curb to lawlessness in the region. It was also intended to serve as a buffer between
Plains Indians to the west and the
Choctaw, who were slated for removal to the area from
Mississippi. Named after
Major GeneralNathaniel Towson (1784–1854) who served in the
War of 1812 (1812–1815) and the
Mexican–American War (1846–1848). Confederate Brigadier General Stand Watie surrendered to Union forces at Fort Towson on June 23, 1865. Watie was the last confederate general in the field to surrender.[14]
Cantonment (1879–1882) In
Blaine County. In September 1878 a band of Northern Cheyenne had fled northward from the
Cheyenne and
Arapaho Reservation, causing panic among the residents of western Kansas and Nebraska. With orders to police the reservation,
ColonelRichard Dodge (1827–1895) and four companies of the
Twenty-third Infantry from
Fort Leavenworth,
Kansas, established the Cantonment midway between Forts Reno and Supply in March 1879. It was never officially named as cantonment, which is a term for a temporary military fortification.[31]
Muskogee AAF/
Davis Field (1941–1947) (As an Air Reserve Base: 1956–1967) Named in honor of
Muskogee native Jack Davis, who was killed in action in the South
Pacific during
World War II, Davis Field was previously known as the Muskogee Army Airfield. Built in 1941 42 by the
War Department, the initial runway was constructed by commandeering a straight stretch of U.S. Highway 64. The facility was leased by the federal government in October 1942 to serve as a Ground Air Support Base to nearby
Camp Gruber. It was also used as a combat-crew training site for aerial photographic reconnaissance during
World War II.
There were 11 prisoners of war base camps, 22 POW branch camps, 3 POW hospitals, 3 enemy alien internment camps and 4 POW cemeteries in Oklahoma during
World War II.[38][39][40]
On July 1, 1961, the
577th Strategic Missile Squadron was activated at
Altus Air Force Base and established twelve missile silo sites in a 40-mile radius around Altus, each with one
Atlas-F nuclear missile. Of the twelve sites, all but one were located in Oklahoma. The squadron inactivated on March 25, 1965, when the Atlas-F was phased out in favor of the
Titan II missile. All silo sites were subsequently demilitarized and sold to private owners.[41]
USS Oklahoma (BB-37) (1916–1944) – Battleship. Served in
World War I. Sunk in the
Attack on Pearl Harbor. Sunk by carrier-based aircraft torpedoes, raised in 1943, sank 17 May 1947 in a storm while being towed to
San Francisco for scrapping. In 2003, the U.S. Navy recovered part of the mast of the Oklahoma from the bottom of Pearl Harbor. In 2007, it was flown to Tinker AFB, then delivered to War Memorial Park in Muskogee for permanent display.[56]
World War II Airborne Demonstration Team Foundation –
Frederick. A non-profit 501(c)(3) organization located in the historic former Frederick Army Airfield portion of the airport. In addition to its museum functions focused on World War II U.S. Army airborne infantry/paratrooper operations, the team also maintains two flyable
C-47 Skytrain transports in one of the airport's remaining World War II military hangars. Painted in U.S. Army Air Forces markings, these aircraft are regularly flown for use in historical reenactments of paratrooper airdrop operations.[36]