The Arizona Air National Guard base on the south side of Sky Harbor Airport has now been renamed in honor of the man who founded it 70 years ago.

That would be five-time Arizona Sen. Barry Goldwater, who was also a pilot who served in World War II and an avid flyer. He helped activate the fighter squadron at Luke Field in 1946. The unit moved to Sky Harbor in 1952.

His son, Barry Goldwater Jr., remembers those days. He grew up flying in his father’s lap in the cockpit of the Piper Cub he purchased after the war. At the dedication
ceremony of the base in his late father’s name, Goldwater Jr., a former congressman himself, discussed flying and some present-day politics.