FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    June 24, 2004

PORT OF WALLA WALLA LAUNCHES WEB SITE CONTAINING WORLD WAR II ERA NEWSPAPERS

As a tribute to the men and women who trained and served at the Walla Walla Army Airbase during World War II, the Port of Walla Walla has launched a web site containing the former airbase newspapers. The newspaper entitled “Walla Wallop” was published once a week from May 19, 1944 through June 21, 1946 and highlighted airbase activities.

According to Port Commission President Ken Jantz, “The original newspapers were beginning to deteriorate. We wanted to make sure an important part of Walla Walla and U.S. history was preserved in the professional scanning of the newspapers.” In addition to preserving the historical content, the Port elected to make available the newspaper via a web-enabled image document hosting service provided by US Archive & Imaging Services, Inc.

During World War II the 2,164-acre Walla Walla Army Airbase was developed as a training base for B-17 and B-24 aircraft. During the war years, it was estimated that more than 8,000 officers were trained in Walla Walla producing 594 heavy bomb crews who completed approximately 114,414 hours in the air while training.

“The Port Commission wanted to make accessible to as many veterans and their families this important historical archive. What better way than having the newspaper accessible via the internet,” said Commissioner Jantz. The web-enabled site has a host of user-friendly features including the capability of typing a person’s name and having newspapers containing that person’s name pulled from the newspaper archive area. The site has the capability of allowing the user to enlarge articles of interest for ease of reading. The web site also allows users to print out the newspapers to enable them to share with family members that may not have access to the internet.

In 1947 the United States Air Force declared the Walla Walla airfield surplus. On December 1, 1947 the city and county took over operations. In 1989 the Port of Walla Walla assumed ownership and operational responsibility of the airport and changed its title to Walla Walla Regional Airport. Today the former army airbase is an active commercial airport served by Horizon Air and Big Sky Airlines with daily flights to and from Seattle, WA and Boise, ID. The airport’s industrial park has been revitalized and the World War II era buildings are now home to over 70 businesses including several award winning wineries.

To view the newspaper archives visit the Walla Walla Regional Airport web site at www.wallawallaairport.com.

Founded in 1952, the Port is the lead economic development agency for Walla Walla County. The Port’s primary mission is the creation and retention of family wage jobs. The Port is governed by three elected commissioners Michael Frederickson, Paul Schneidmiller and Fred Bennett. For more information contact: James M. Kuntz, Executive Director or Jennifer A. Skoglund, Airport Manager at (509)525-3100.

The Port retained the services of US Archive & Imaging Services, Inc. to perform the digital imaging, indexing and web hosting work associated with the former airbase newspapers. They are a privately held company headquartered in Kirkland, Washington.