The White Falcon - 02.04.1993, Page 4

Iceland’s strategic importance continues
The Space Shuttle landed in Keflavlk, that is, aboard a modified 747jumbo jet. The day was May 19,1983, and quoting the May 27,
of The White Falcon, "it is estimated that nearly the entire population of Reykjavik was looking up - at the NASA orbiter Enterprise,
interconnected planes were enroute to the Paris Air Show. (Official U.S. Navy file photo)

W6A
est flow of traffic. More than 1,000 aircraft
put down their wheels in a single month on
their way to the battlefields.
In 1946, the Government of Iceland took
possession of Meeks Field in accordance
with an agreement with the United States and
renamed it Keflavfk International Airport
After the war, Keflavfk International Aiiport
became the stop-over point for the propeller
driven airliners providing service to the rap-
idly growing number of people traveling the
skies over the Atlantic in the greatest comfort
and style of the time.
Icelandair is now the most common carrier
operating from the Keflavfk International
Airport The airport is co-located with U.S.
Naval Air Station, Keflavfk, sharing the
runways. The strategically located base
provides support to military aircraft of the
United States and other countries of the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The
American military force was established in
Iceland in 1951 by a defense agreement be-
tween Iceland and the United States undo- the
auspices of NATO. For over 40 years, it has
provided for the security of strategically
located Iceland in the common
interest of all 12 nations of the
NATO alliance.
It is doubtful that the Ameri-
can Seabees and the soldiers
struggling with their work
through the winter gales so long
ago could have predicted the im-
pact that their toil would have on
the history of air travel and mili-
tary air operations. Their efforts
have withstood the test of time
and the onward march of tech-
nology during the last 50 years.
What the next five decades may
bring in advanced aviation and
space technology remains largely
hidden. But as long as travelers
continue to make the trans-At-
lantic crossing in inner space,
Keflavfk will surely remain the
glistening stepping stone in the
middle of the vast ocean, offering
comfort and respite for the trav-
eler between the new world and
the old.
g%m\nm8i
V PURIISMID fOS AMtRICAN FORCI* IN ICIIANO
MARINES STILL HOLDING WAKE
First American
Hero is Dead
British Attack
'li* llrsiolrr
Men l-'rwni
l** to

The base is not the only thing that has changed in
50 years. (Photo by J03 (SW) Andreas Walter)
The White Falcon historical insert