🇺🇸 Rosecrans Memorial Airport

Rosecrans Memorial Airport (STJ) is a joint civil-military public airport located three miles northwest of St. Joseph in Buchanan County, Missouri. It is open to the public 24/7, 365 days a year.

Type of Facility and Operations:

• Operator: City of St. Joseph.
• Primary Use: General aviation and military operations.
• Military Presence: It is one of two bases for the Missouri Air National Guard and home to the 139th Airlift Wing (139 AW), which flies the C-130H Hercules tactical airlift aircraft. The Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center (AATTC), a combined activity of the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve Command, is also located there.
• Runways: It has two concrete runways: 17/35 (8,061 feet by 150 feet) and 13/31 (4,797 feet by 75 feet).

Notable Features or History:

• Naming: The airport is named in honor of Sgt. Guy Wallace Rosecrans, the only St. Joseph airman killed in World War I.
• Early History: The 1939 airport was developed by the city as a municipal airport. During World War II, the federal government established an Army Air Forces base at Rosecrans, making numerous improvements.
• Flooding: The Great Flood of 1951 damaged many temporary World War II buildings and caused the Missouri River to change course, separating the airport from St. Joseph. Today, access from Missouri requires passing through Kansas via the Pony Express Bridge and Elwood, Kansas. The Great Flood of 1993 also destroyed the City Administration Building and Cockpit Cafe, both of which were rebuilt.
• Past Airline Service: Airline flights began by 1939. Successor Braniff pulled out in 1959, replaced by Frontier Airlines and Ozark Air Lines, both of which left by 1969, three years before Kansas City International Airport opened.
• TWA Training: Until its acquisition by American Airlines, Trans World Airlines (TWA) used the airport for pilot training.

Current Status:

• The airport continues to serve as a base for the Missouri Air National Guard and supports general aviation.
• It offers services such as charter passenger and cargo, pilot training, and nightly mail delivery.
• The Advanced Airlift Tactics Training Center (AATTC) at Rosecrans ANGB provides advanced tactics training to tactical airlift crews from various U.S. and Allied forces.

*Sources researched: en.wikipedia.org, adip.faa.gov, stjosephmo.gov, ci.st-joseph.mo.us, airnav.com*