Historical Facts

• U.S. Government activated facilities in 1942 as Greenville Army Air Base, to be used for training B-25 crews; first troops arrived in August 1942.
  
• The base was deactivated at the end of W.W.II, but reactivated in 1946 as the home of the 9th Air Force. In 1948, the name was changed to Greenville Air Force.
  
• In March of 1951, the base was renamed for a third time as Donaldson Air Force Base in honor of Captain John O. Donaldson, the fourth ranking aerial ace of W.W. I and a native of Greenville.
  
• It was also in March of 1951 that the 18th Air Force (Troop Carrier) was activated, the first such organization in U.S. Air Force history.
  
• Airlift units based at Donaldson played an instrumental role in airlift/mobility operations such as the Berlin Airlift and Operation DEEP FREEZE, an exercise involving airlifting supplies and personnel to the Antarctica.
  
• In 1962, the U.S. Air Force moved the Military Air Transport Command to Hunter Air Base in Savannah, GA, and started to reduce the personnel at Donaldson to a skeleton force.
  
• In spring of 1963, Donaldson Air Force Base was finally closed and all of the remaining facilities were sold back to the city and county government, per a reversionary clause.
  
• Donaldson Center was originally governed by the Donaldson Management Committee, composed by members from the County Delegation, the City Council, the County Development Board, and the Chairman of the Planning Commission.
  
• In 1975, the "home" rule was established, creating the Donaldson Development Commission with three members appointed by City, three members appointed by County and one member appointed at large.
  
• Today, there are over 80 businesses at Donaldson Center, employing over 4000 employees.

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