Bay City Department of Public Works recently issued the following announcement.
Ever wonder who James Clements was? This picture hangs inside the Administration Building at James Clements Municipal Airport – and reveals this is United States Naval Reserve Force (U.S.N.R.F.) Ensign James Renville Clements. The sea plane pilot died of influenza in 1918 while serving in France during World War I. His family donated the land and a large sum of money to create the airport, along with other Bay City businessmen. The original hangar was built in 1928 and shortly after the Administration Building, where this picture still hangs, was dedicated in 1930. The Administration Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
While named after James Clements, the airport was dedicated to all those who lost their lives in WWI between 1914 and 1918.
Want to learn more? Go here: https://catalog.archives.gov/.../rg-079/NPS_MI/82000494.pdf
Original source can be found here.
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