McClellan Air Force Base, was established in 1935. It was named after Major Hezekiah McClellan (1894–1936) on 1 December 1939, a pioneer in arctic aeronautical tests. Major McClellan was a posthumous recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross who prepared early charts and records while pioneering Alaskan air routes. He died on 25 May 1936 when his Consolidated P-30 which he was flight testing, crashed near Centerville, Ohio.