Every time you check a departure board, you're looking at a list of codes — three letters that tell you where a plane is headed. But some of those codes carry a weight that goes far beyond logistics. This Memorial Day, we wanted to pause and look a little closer at the names behind ten American airports — names that belong to soldiers, pilots, and veterans who gave everything in service to their country.
Lt. Edward "Butch" O'Hare — Chicago O'Hare International Airport (ORD)
On the night of February 20, 1942, Lt. Edward "Butch" O'Hare did something almost impossible. Flying alone after his wingman's guns jammed, he attacked a formation of nine Japanese bombers bearing down on the USS Lexington — and drove them off. He was credited with shooting down five aircraft in under four minutes. President Roosevelt called it "one of the most daring, if not the most daring, single action in the history of combat aviation." O'Hare received the Medal of Honor and became the U.S. Navy's first flying ace of World War II. He was 29 years old when he was killed in action the following year. Chicago's airport has carried his name since 1949.
Joe Foss — Joe Foss Field, Sioux Falls (FSD)
Joe Foss grew up on a South Dakota farm and became one of the most decorated American fighter pilots of World War II. Flying a Grumman Wildcat in the skies over Guadalcanal, he matched Eddie Rickenbacker's WWI record of 26 aerial victories — making him the top Marine Corps ace of the war. He received the Medal of Honor from President Roosevelt in 1943. After the war, Foss served as Governor of South Dakota and the first commissioner of the American Football League. Sioux Falls named its airport after him, and it's a fitting tribute to a man who never stopped serving his state.
Capt. John A.E. Bergstrom — Austin–Bergstrom International Airport (AUS)
Captain John August Earl Bergstrom was an administrative officer with the 19th Bombardment Group, stationed at Clark Field in the Philippines. On December 8, 1941 — the first full day of America's war in the Pacific — Japanese forces attacked Clark Field in a devastating strike that mirrored Pearl Harbor. Bergstrom was killed that day, becoming the first Austin native to die in World War II. The airport that bears his name opened in 1999 on the former site of Bergstrom Air Force Base, completing a circle that connects his sacrifice to the city that remembers him.
John Glenn — John Glenn Columbus International Airport (CMH)
Before John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth, he was a Marine Corps fighter pilot who flew 59 combat missions in World War II and 90 more during the Korean War. He was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross six times. His later fame as an astronaut — and as the oldest person to fly in space at age 77 — sometimes overshadows just how decorated a combat veteran he was. Columbus, Ohio, his home state's capital, named its airport in his honour in 2016, the year he passed away.
Brig. Gen. Billy Mitchell — General Mitchell International Airport, Milwaukee (MKE)
Billy Mitchell is one of the most consequential and controversial figures in American military history. A decorated WWI veteran who commanded all American air combat units in France, Mitchell became a fierce and very public advocate for air power at a time when the military establishment wasn't ready to listen. He was court-martialled in 1925 for insubordination after accusing military leaders of "incompetency, criminal negligence, and almost treasonable administration of the national defense." History vindicated him. He is widely regarded as the father of the U.S. Air Force, and Milwaukee's airport has carried his name since 1941.
Brig. Gen. Edward Lawrence Logan — Logan International Airport, Boston (BOS)
General Edward Lawrence Logan served in the Spanish-American War and rose to command the 26th Infantry Division — the famous "Yankee Division" — during World War I. A Boston native and Massachusetts politician, Logan was a central figure in the state's military and civic life for decades. Boston's airport was named in his honour in 1943, and it remains one of the few major American airports named after a ground commander rather than an aviator.
Lt. Ernest Wold & Cyrus Chamberlain — Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport (MSP)
Minneapolis–Saint Paul International was originally known as Wold-Chamberlain Field, named for two Minnesota men who died in World War I: Lt. Ernest Groves Wold, an Army aviator killed in France in 1918, and Cyrus Foss Chamberlain, a pilot who died in a training accident the same year. It's one of the rare airports named after two individuals — a quiet acknowledgment that the cost of that war was shared, and that the names worth remembering don't always belong to generals.
Lt. Charles McGhee Tyson — McGhee Tyson Airport, Knoxville (TYS)
Lt. Charles McGhee Tyson was a U.S. Naval aviator from Knoxville who was killed during World War I. He was among the early generation of military pilots — men who flew in an era when aviation itself was still new and the risks were enormous even before combat. The airport that bears his name has served East Tennessee for decades, and his story is a reminder that the first generation of military aviators paid a steep price to establish what would become one of America's most powerful military advantages.
Gen. Wayne A. Downing — General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport (PIA)
General Wayne Downing was one of the most distinguished Special Operations commanders in American history. A West Point graduate, he served in Vietnam and commanded the Joint Special Operations Command before retiring as a four-star general. After 9/11, he returned to government service as the National Director and Deputy National Security Advisor for Combating Terrorism. Peoria named its airport after him in 2007, honouring a soldier whose career spanned some of the most consequential chapters of late 20th-century American military history.
Lt. Moss L. Love — Dallas Love Field (DAL)
Dallas Love Field carries one of the oldest military names in American aviation. Lt. Moss Lee Love was an Army aviator who died in a flight training accident in 1913 — years before the United States entered World War I, at a time when military aviation was still finding its footing. The field was established as a military training base in 1917 and named in his memory. Today it's one of the busiest airports in Texas, and the name Love Field has become so embedded in Dallas culture that most people don't stop to wonder where it came from.
These Cities Are Part of Our Collection
If any of these airports feel like home — or like a place that matters to someone you love — we carry city-specific gifts and souvenirs for each of them. From mugs and pillows to blankets and prints, every piece is tied to the airport code that makes a city instantly recognizable.
- Chicago, Illinois (ORD)
- Sioux Falls, South Dakota (FSD)
- Austin, Texas (AUS)
- Columbus, Ohio (CMH)
- Milwaukee, Wisconsin (MKE)
- Boston, Massachusetts (BOS)
- Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Minnesota (MSP)
- Knoxville, Tennessee (TYS)
- Peoria, Illinois (PIA)
- Dallas, Texas (DAL)
This Memorial Day, we remember the people behind the places.
