In August 1917, Capt. H.R. Eyrich surveyed a new airfield location at Fort Sill and established Henry Post Army Airfield (named after 2nd Lt. Henry Post who was killed in a plane crash in San Diego in 1914). The field occupies a small plateau about a mile south of the main post cantonment area. Construction immediately began on wooden hangars, offices and officer housing. As the U.S. entered World War I, the airfield was used to train aerial observers for the field artillery.