Humble brick structure on VA’s Vancouver campus has storied past dating back to WWII

Located just to the south of the VA’s sprawling Vancouver campus, along the Columbia River lies Pearson Field. Dedicated on September 16, 1925, some 20 years after Vancouver’s introduction to aviation by way of a Baldwin Airship named “Gelatine”, piloted by Lincoln Beachey, crossed the Columbia River from Portland to land at the polo field in Vancouver, Washington in September of 1905.

Regular flights into and out of that polo field would begin in 1911, and by 1925, the location took on the name of Vancouver Barracks Aerodrome, and would become the home of the 321st Observation Squadron, commanded by Lt. Oakley Kelly. He soon petitioned the US War Department to officially change the name to Pearson Airfield in honor of Lt. Alexander Pearson Jr., who had died in an airplane crash in 1924 while preparing for an air race in Ohio.

Just prior to the onset of WWII, and in an effort to take advantage of radar and radio communications, a brick building was constructed in 1940 to the north of the airfield. Its location was key—far enough away from the airfield to avoid radio interference, but close enough to communicate with incoming and departing aircraft. This structure was simply known as the “Communications Building”.

Pearson Airfield soon established itself as a strategic location, and the reputation as the oldest continuously operating airfield in the Pacific Northwest, and one of two of the oldest continuously operating airfields in the entire country. Following the conclusion of WWII, the ownership of Pearson Field would revert to the City of Vancouver, where it remained until 1994 when the National Park Service entered an agreement with the City of Vancouver to oversee its operations, and designated it as Fort Vancouver National Park. The airfield now operates a public regional airport as Pearson Field (KVUO), with communications through Seattle Radio on 119.0 MHz, and two unlighted runways, 8 and 26. 

In 2005, an agreement between the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Washington State Department of Archaeology and Historic Preservation deemed the Communications Building as a historic structure. Taking into account the redevelopment of the VA’s Vancouver campus, and the impact on existing historical structures at the campus by the expansion of the I-5 freeway, construction of the Fourth Plain exit ramp, the Clark County Center for Community Health (building 17) and street widening projects in the area, 22 of the 23 buildings (some historic) referenced in the report were demolished.

The last two remaining buildings designated on the 2005 review was the “WWII Chapel”, which had been relocated from its original location in 1952, and the Communications Building. But in 2007, in order to make way for construction of Building 18 and the newly-aligned entrance to the VA’s Vancouver campus, the Chapel would ultimately be demolished. This left the Communications Building as the last remaining historic structure, which the review also specifically called for rehabilitation and preservation of the structure. 

Known today as the Veterans Museum, the modest brick building, which opened for business in September 2011, houses interactive displays, artifacts, photos and collections highlighting the long history of the area. The 2005 review also called for the installation of an interpretive exhibit illustrating the history of the Barnes Army Hospital/Veterans Hospital, which can be found at the Veterans Museum.

The Museum is open Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and is located in building 1819, in the southwest corner of the VA’s Vancouver campus. Museum curator William Hill also serves as a wealth of knowledge and will provide guided tours of the displays when requested in advance. There is no admission charge, but donations are gladly accepted. Call 360-450-9032 for information.