Have You Ever Gone Back In Time?

     I did once...well sort of, along time ago and the memory of that journey, short as it was, has rushed back to me. Thoughts of that day have never really left me but watching reruns of an old television show have stirred up a lot of nostalgic feelings.
     My folks and I had been out a Sunday afternoon drive (yes, those did really exist back then) when we approached an old and apparently abandoned airport. My dad and I were crazy about airplanes. Persuading my mom, we entered through the gate and back into time.
     Old single-story military barracks and assorted other low building were nearby, some with large white signs with black lettering bearing such titles as OPERATIONS and HOSPITAL attached to their fronts. I remember feeling odd or peculiar at seeing these stark, silent remnants of distant history. It was quiet and, except for the breeze, very still. The three of us were the only ones present.
     We kept driving and came upon a few old army vehicles neatly parked in a row. All were wearing the standard livery of olive drab. Among them was an ambulance with the large crosses painted in bright red against a white background plus a staff car and I think a couple of canvas-covered supply trucks. Getting out of the Rambler station wagon, we walked around the vehicles for a while, then returned to the car and continued our modest adventure.
     Portions of some of the low barracks were in use at the time by a few small local  businesses. Signs for a Drapery Shop and I think for an Upholstery Shop were nailed to the drab wooden exteriors at the rear of the buildings. There may have been others.
     As we left the airport, the discussion centered on the idea that, as odd as it seemed, the buildings and antique vehicles had been left behind at the close of WWII. We had missed the obvious clue that the military signs and vehicle markings were anything but WWII vintage! The paint was as fresh as any that would have been found on a new car or truck or house.
     It wasn't until a short time later when the new fall TV season premiered for 1964 and local television listings described ABC's new WWII-era program that we realized we had been on the location set for "12 O'Clock High", nestled quietly at Chino Airport in San Bernardino County.
     The airport, formerly the Cal Aero Field and home to a private flying school, had been contracted as a primary and basic training base for the Army Air Force during WWII, retaining many of its original buildings following the war. The airport now served as the 918th Bomb Group's fictional home, Archbury. Chino Airport had been chosen for its vintage WWII look and remoteness. In 1964, the unspoiled, surrounding countryside was a real plus because it bore an  uncanny resemblance to the pastoral landscape of  war-torn England, tall eucalyptus trees and all.
     While the mystery concerning a secluded and supposedly abandoned airport with its specter-like remains had been solved with the appearance of  new TV show, that feeling of stepping back in time, even for just a few minutes, has always been a part of me.