Will Rogers World Airport Airlines carries the most passengers at Will Rogers World Airport, with a market share of over 35%. The airport first opened in 1911 as Oklahoma City Municipal Airfield. It was renamed in Rogers' honor in 1941. During World War II Will Rogers Field was a major training facility for the United States Army Air Forces; many fighter and bomber units were activated and received initial training there. The December 1951 C&GS chart shows 5497-ft runway 3, 3801-ft runway 8, 5652-ft runway 12 and 5100-ft runway 17. The April 1957 OAG showed 21 daily non-stop departures on Braniff International Airways, 15
Will Rogers (Davidson) was returned to the US and donated to the Will Rogers Memorial Fund, a charity established by the movie industry as a tribute to Will Rogers, in 1936. The WRMF was an eventual replacement for the National Vaudeville Artist Fund, which operated social assistance programs and a hospital for vaudevillians suffering from tuberculosis. The hospital was in Saranac Lake, New York and often referred to as the NVA Lodge. As a result of an agreement between vaudeville producers and movie moguls, the hospital name was changed to the Will Rogers Memorial Hospital, where the plaster cast was on display until