Trip Report: Mascoutah Reunion Visit
First published in 1998. Reformatted 2025. I used my high school reunion as an excuse for a road trip. Just a reminder PIN means Permanent Installation Number and ILC means Installation Location Code; I include these for Air Force properties when I know them.Friday, 1 August 1997
Departed Louisiana at 1530. No sightseeing on this day, and I stopped for the night in Forrest City, Arkansas, at 2130. Covered 325 miles.Saturday, 2 August 1997
Harris Field MO, 37-14, 89-34. Departed Forrest City at 0700. While in Missouri, I visited Cape Girardeau Regional Airport (CGI). During WWII this was an AAF contract pilot school operated by Cape Institute of Aeronautics, Inc.General view Nike SL-40C IL, 38-17-24, 89-56-51. My path took me directly by the Hecker, Illinois, Nike control site It is now Beck Area Vocational School. The compound was locked, so I took some photos from outside the fence. Most buildings seemed to be in use and well-maintained. A separate fenced area contains sewage disposal ponds.
Fence
Gate and sentry box
General view
Building
General view
Concrete structure Nike SL-40L IL, 38-16-11, 89-57-00. Heading south, I searched for the launcher site. It was locked and appeared abandoned. I noted the foundation from the former sentry box inside the gate. A dirt road passed by the west perimeter fence of the site, so I found myself outside the fence looking directly at the launcher area.
Gate
General view
General view
General view
General ivew
Launcher area Belleville AFS IL, 38-28-30, 89-54-15. This former radar site now belongs to St. Clair Associated Vocational Enterprises (S.A.V.E.), Inc. and is locally called the Save Site. The gate to the compound was wide open with no signs saying keep out, so I went in. There were cars outside the administration building but the door was locked and no one answered my knock. The radar towers are gone, but I did find the foundations of two of them, hiding in piles of trash. Several vintage AF buildings were still standing. The family housing area is in use, as are some of the vintage AFS buildings, including a windowless concrete building.
General view
General view
General view
Building
Tower foundation
General view
General view
General view
Family housing area
General view
Operations building
Operations building
General view
General view Belleville Test Annex IL. The USAF still controls a small part of the former AFS; one building next to a tall antenna in a small fenced area. This small piece of land is leased by the Air Force from S.A.V.E.
Building and tower
Building and tower Scott Radio Range IL. This former navigation aid was easy to find as it is on Radio Range Road. It is still USAF controlled.
View from outside gate Scott Munitions Storage Annex IL, 38-31-10, 89-50-30. This former annex is now the Southern Illinois University-Belleville Research Center, apparently used for agriculture research. Nothing of interest is visible from the public road, but there are a couple of munitions igloos on the site.
View from road Scott AFB IL, 38-33-30, 89-51-00. I obtained a nice room on base. Their billeting has improved significantly since my TDY in 1990.
Traffic check house Then, I drove the six miles to Mascoutah and attended my Mascoutah Community High School Class of 1977 Reunion. It included a tour of the school (by the same principal we had in 1977), group photo, social hour, and dinner. Total miles for the day: 415.
Sunday, 3 August 1997
Parks Airport IL, 38-34-15, 90-11. On the road at 0630, headed to East St Louis, IL. This was the second location of this WWII contract flying school, operated by Parks Air College, Inc. It was initially situated a mile to the northeast on Curtis-Steinberg Field--I didn't have detailed maps with me so I wasn't able to pinpoint the location of the earlier field. One hangar looks like it might be WWII vintage.Non-historic building
Non-historic sign
Hangar Then I pointed the car south-southwest and headed for home. Total trip was 49.5 hours, covering 1,391 miles. Updated January 26, 2025
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