The military has been a source of pride and growth in our area. From the Civil War battles along Beach Drive to the Navy Coastal Systems Center and Tyndall AFB, Bay County has supported our military. Tyndall Air Force Base opened as a gunnery school in 1941. Named in honor of WW I flying ace, Lieutenant Frank B. Tyndall, its planes are still a common sight. In 1942 Wainwright Shipyard began construction of 102 Liberty ships and 6 tankers used in WW II. The shipyard was named for General Jonathan Wainwright, a prisoner of war. Across the bay from Wainwright Shipyard, the Naval Section Base began in 1942. In 1945 the base was recommissioned as a U. S. Navy Countermeasures Station. We now know it as the Navy Coastal Systems Center.