Burning aircraft at Hickam Field, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.

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Hickam Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation, named in honour of aviation pioneer Lieutenant Colonel Horace Meek Hickam. The base merged with the Naval Station Pearl Harbor to become part of the Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam.

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In 1934, the Army Air Corps saw the need for another airfield in Hawaii when Luke Field on Ford Island became too congested for both air operations and operation of the Hawaiian Air Depot. Land and fishponds adjacent to John Rodgers Airport and Fort Kamehameha were purchased by the War Department for a new air depot and air base at a cost of $1,095,543.78. It was the largest peacetime military construction project in the United States to that date and continued through 1941.

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When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, its planes bombed and strafed Hickam to eliminate air opposition and prevent American aircraft from following them back to their aircraft carriers. Hickam suffered extensive damage and aircraft losses, with 189 people killed and 303 wounded. Notable casualties included nine Honolulu Fire Department (HFD) fire fighters (three killed, six injured) who fought fires at Hickham during the attack; they later received Purple Hearts (USA's oldest Military Award) for their heroic actions that day in peacetime history, the only civilian fire fighters awarded as such to date.

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During World War II, the base became a major centre for training pilots and assembling aircraft. It also served as the hub of the Pacific aerial network, supporting aircraft ferrying troops and supplies to - and evacuating wounded from - the forward areas - a role it would repeat during the Korean and Vietnam wars and earning it the official nickname "America's Bridge Across the Pacific".

Source: Wikipedia