On January 23, 1942, the Bell Aircraft Company and the Department of War announced that an aircraft factory employing up to 40,000 workers would be built near Marietta. Also, the Department of War announced on February 19 that "Rickenbacker Field" would be renamed the Marietta Army Airfield. Although its construction began in March 1942, its official ground-breaking ceremony took place in May 1942, with Captain Rickenbacker present. Rickenbacker went on to establish and pay for an aviation educational program to train workers for both civil aviation and military aviation. Also in 1942, the City of Atlanta began work on its contribution: a pipeline to supply the new factory with water from the Chattahoochee River.