Cecil barracks: GoogleEarth Photo Jan 7 1999--VFP-62 barracks is at the upper end near McArthy Way & 6th Street. The EM Club is to the rear. Chow Hall is at the center of the arc. --Contributed by Greg Engler
"I had no memory of what the chow hall looked like, only where it was. Seeing pictures like this sure brings back a lot of old times. I wish everyone would dig deeper in their old stuff and find more to post.--Greg Engler
Cecil Field Sports Trophies--VFP 62 was the base inter-mural champs in Fast pitch softball and in football in 1959. The only players I remember are T A Greene, Jerry Hollifield, Bobby Jones, Ron Lebo, Dave Saville, and myself (Marion Swinford).
In July 1993, former Naval Air Station Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Florida
was recommended for closure by the Defense Base Closure and Realignment
Commission. In response to the decision to close NAS Cecil Field, the Mayor
of Jacksonville established the Cecil Field Development Commission,
succeeded by the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission (JEDC).
One of
the major responsibilities of the commission was to develop a proposed base
reuse plan that would guide the transition of NAS Cecil Field from a
fully-operational Navy base to civilian use. In 1996, the NAS Cecil Field
Final Base Reuse Plan was approved and in March 1999, the Jacksonville City
Council approved the Cecil Commerce Center Operations and Business Plan.
Between July 1999 and April 2002, property was conveyed to the JEDC,
Jacksonville Aviation Authority (JAA), the City of Jacksonville Parks
Department and Clay County. Since the time of the conveyance of
approximately 8,300 acres (34 km2), the JEDC has worked to promote the site
as a prime location for companies in the manufacturing, industrial-related
and distribution industries, as well as other uses including support retail
and office space along the main roads.
Much excavation and destruction of former Cecil buildings was
done when the base was transferred to the Jacksonville Aviation Authority. "
The Jax Aviation Authority (JAA) owns the runways and probably the hangars
and probably other structures and land at Cecil but the area where the Officers' Recreational Facility (ORF)
was as well as much more land is owned by the Jax Economic Development
Commission (JEDC). as well as Jax Parks Dept and Clay County.
[Webmaster's Note: this email was received by vfp62.com 9/17/08]: "Hello, I am the Office manager at Cecil Pines the company that has taken over the enlisted section of homes on Cecil Field. We are interested in framing and hanging some historical pictures in our community center. I see you have quite a few that we might be interested in. Is it possible for me to get copies of some of the pictures on your site? How would I go about that? Thanks you for your help."
Christina Purdy
Cecil Pines / Office Manager
6008 Lake Cove Ave.
Jacksonville, Fl 32221
www.cecilpines.org
"Viewing the Goggle photos brought back some memories. One in particular is tearing up the golf course with a lot of divots! Probably took mulligan’s on every other hole. After almost 50 years my game has not changed that much. That’s why I bike!" -- Pete Wallace
Cecil Field Today
Recent photos of Cecil Field Check out:_ Modern Day Cecil Field -Taken by squadron members returning to Cecil.
EM Club and barracks: GoogleEarth Photo 2002--Note that in 2002 the barracks were gone but the EM club was still there. Contributed by Greg Engler
The Story of The VFP-62 Time Capsule
(Updated: 5/18/11) Photos and story of the burial and recovery of the: --VFP-62 Time Capsule (5/18/11: Added Recovery and Salvage of Time Capsule)
