Prescott will host a statue dedication ceremony honoring local WWI hero Lt. Ernest A. Love on Wednesday April 10 at 1:00 pm in front of the Prescott Regional Airport Terminal, located at 6600 Airport Drive. The event is open to the public. The Ernest A. Love American Legion Post #6 Honor Guard will present the colors, and there will be comments from Mayor Phil Goode.
The bronze statue was created by local Prescott resident and renowned Western artist Bill Nebeker, and was funded privately, in part by a $100,000 grant from the Arizona Community Foundation of Yavapai County, and an additional $25,000 from Friends of Prescott Regional Airport. City Council approved the commission of the statue in March of 2023.
“This statue will be a wonderful tribute to Prescott’s history, and a legacy for Prescott Regional Airport,” said Prescott Mayor Phil Goode. “Prescott Regional Airport is also called Ernest A. Love Field, so this statue will stand as a reminder honoring the airport’s namesake, a true Prescott hero. The statue will be placed in a prominent location for all airport users to view and appreciate.”
Mr. Nebeker, a longtime Prescott resident, told Council “I’m extremely honored to be able to do this for my hometown.”
Ernest A. Love moved to Prescott with his family as a young child. After graduating at the top of his class at Prescott High School, Love went on to Stanford University, where he was in his third year of engineering, again at the top of his class, when World War I broke out.
He was fascinated with aircraft, and asked if he could fly planes if he joined the war effort. He then went to flight school in San Diego, and was later assigned to the 147th Aero Squadron, and flew many missions in Europe before his plane was shot down over France in 1918.
He was rescued and taken to a Catholic Church in France, and they tended to him until he passed away from his wounds.
On August 28,1928 Prescott Municipal Airport was dedicated as Ernest A. Love Field. Love’s parents Allan and Louetta Love generously supported the construction of the airport’s first Terminal.
