“Hickam Field 15th OSS” vintage style military aviation travel poster art by – Squadron Posters!

The 15 OSS occupies historic Building 1 (now Bldg 2050) constructed in 1938 as the Base Operations building for Hickam Field. From the observation tower, located atop of Building 1, Captain Gordon Blake directed 11 of the 12 inbound B-17s to safety on December 7, 1941–the flight’s arrival was coincident with the first wave of attacking Japanese aircraft. Although located adjacent to the newly constructed Army barracks (now Headquarters, Pacific Air Forces), the Base Operations building survived the sunrise attack because Japanese intelligence identified the operations hub as the Officer’s Club. The barracks was heavily damaged during the attack. From the observation tower, Col Farthing, the wing commander in December 1941,also witnessed the first flight of attacking Japanese aircraft inbound to strike Pearl Harbor’s battleship row.

Hickam Air Force Base is a United States Air Force installation, named in honor of aviation pioneer Lieutenant Colonel Horace Meek Hickam. The installation merged in 2010 with Naval Station Pearl Harbor to become part of the newly formed Joint Base Pearl Harbor–Hickam, on the island of Oʻahu in the State of Hawaii.