"M" is for Myrtle Beach Air Force Base

"M" is for Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. Myrtle Beach Air Force Base originated as a municipal airport. During World War II, the U.S. Army transformed it into a training base. In 1948 the army deactivated the base and returned it to the town. As the cold war intensified in the 1950s, the U.S. Air Force reacquired the land and buildings and reactivated it in 1956. It became a fighter base for the U.S. Air Force Tactical Air Command, with F-100 Super Saber fighters and an estimated 3,500 military and civilian personnel. During the mid-1970s, civilian planes began using the same field to bring tourists to the Grand Strand. As a result of cuts to military spending brought on by the end of the cold war, Myrtle Beach Air Force Base was closed in 1993.