Gerstner Field is no Revolutionary War battleground, but it is certainly revolutionary in its impact here and abroad. For that reason, the Daughters of the American Revolution in collaboration with the city of Lake Charles, want to make sure the War War I field that put Lake Charles on the world map is remembered for generations to come.

At 1 p.m. Friday, Nov. 8, at the newly-updated Veterans Park in Lake Charles, the public is invited to the unveiling and patriotic words of remembrance commemorating Gerstner Field.

Cathie Cox, Bayou Chapter DAR, credited state regent Cheryl Gott for securing the funds for a project not directly tied to the Revolutionary War.

“This was a project significant to not only the freedom of our country, but also to the global interest of the whole world,” Cox said, “and it’s right here in our backyard.”

The field is 11 miles southeast of Lake Charles in the area known as Holmwood. It no longer looks like an airfield. The historical marker placed in 2012 is in bad shape, and the land is now privately owned.

One way that it is revolutionary is the way it came to be, and the impact it had on the area’s economy.

In 1910, it was estimated that $750,000 would be required to rebuild the City after the fire burned through so many of its businesses, an amount that would be about $22 million today, Cox said. The government collaborated with civic leaders who were leaders in their various industries to secure jobs and one of the plans was to lobby to have an airfield to train pilots. In 1917, a grant was secured to put it in Lake Charles.

Gerstner Field was the site of many aviation firsts, including the first military airfield in Louisiana, the first flight ambulance and first aerial gunnery school to use floating targets.

“Imagine it,” said Cox, who was a pilot up until recently and managed Southland AirField for five years, “The Wright Brothers had just taken their first flight a few years before. Airplanes were bi-wing. Practice included dropping ‘bombs’ of flour and bombs to see if they could hit a target. When it was rainy and cold, they were miserable because the cockpit was open. There wasn’t even an Air Force yet.”

It was determined that the bi-planes did not have the power to do the job, giving way to the Flying Jenny, the Curtiss JN-4D.

Cox said the Base was large. During its short history, 1917-1921, several thousand persons worked there to graduate a total of 499 fighter pilots and aviation instructors.

According to the history found online at the City of Lake Charles, “nothing was easy at Gerstner Field.” The Signal Corps Aviation Service put tremendous pressure on the field’s commanders. As a consequence, rushed training and fragile aircraft resulted in accidents and lost  lives. Wartime equipment shortages, localized flooding, the worldwide Spanish flu epidemic and the Hurricane of 1918 which killed two soldiers and battered barracks, destroyed hangars and mangled 100 airplanes added to the challenges.

The DAR National Society was founded in 1890 with a mission of promoting historic preservation, education and patriotism. Members are women who come from diverse backgrounds and hold a variety of interests. Their common bond is a lineal descent from patriots of the American Revolution.

Remember veterans past and present Nov. 8. A full list of city of Lake Charles Veterans Day activities will be in future editions, and held at Veterans Park, 900 Lakeshore Drive/Veterans Memorial Parkway, just south of Interstate 10.