A rich and dynamic album showcasing East Base, Great Falls, Montana, 1944-45, now called Malmstrom Air Force Base, which served as a training ground for soldiers in Alaska during WW2.

Scenes in the album include:

A view of the base’s twin hangar; soldiers in drag performing a routing; three photos of African American troops participating in a training exercise; a group of Native American identified as “Fair Entertainers” in front of the base hospital; a group of nurses receiving instructions of how properly put on and wear their gas masks; a quartet of huskies on their way to Alaska; three members of the base’s hockey team; a group of men and women getting a driving lesson; a parade down main street; a concert; a dance; and much more.

From the Malmstrom Air Force Base Website:

“Construction began on Great Falls Army Air Base on May 9, 1942. The base was informally known as East Base since the 7th Ferrying Group was stationed at the municipal airport on Gore Hill. Its mission was to establish an air route between Great Falls and Ladd Field in Fairbanks, Alaska, as part of the United States Lend-Lease Program that supplied the Soviet Union with aircraft and supplies needed to fight the German Army.

In 1943…more buildings were constructed including a consolidated mess, a Post Exchange, a theater and a 400-bed hospital. Moreover, the Lend-Lease Program continued which included P-39, C-47, B-25 and A-20 aircraft. B-25 Mitchell Bombers arrived by rail and were assembled on base, others were flown in by both military and Women Air Force Service Pilots (WASPs). These aircraft were later flown by U.S. pilots by way of the Alaskan-Siberian Route (ALSIB) through Canada to Fairbanks, Alaska, and transferred to Russian pilots who in turn flew them into Siberia. A total of 1,717,712 pounds of cargo containing aircraft parts, tools, miscellaneous equipment, explosives and medical supplies were shipped through Great Falls Army Air Base to Russia. Aircraft shipments to the Soviet Union stopped in September 1945, when World War II ended, with approximately 8,000 aircraft having been processed in a 21-month period.”

Later renamed Great Falls Base and today known as Malmstrom Air Force Base, construction on the base began in 1942. It was informally known as “East Base”