MOLINE, Ill. (KWQC) - The Quad Cities Airport has renamed its road to “George Kirk Drive” to honor the leader and legacy he left behind.

Born in Dixon, Iowa, George Kirk was a World War II naval aviator. He flew 78 combat missions, earned multiple medals and had seven aerial victories, but above all, Kirk never left a man behind.

“And I think one of the reasons why he got this medal was because he and his wingman circled this guy for over an hour and a half and he was maybe 15 miles away from the island where the enemy was until the guy got picked up, that took courage,” his son Randy Kirk said, about one of his dad’s stories during his time in the navy.

In 1954, Kirk’s relationship with airplanes would continue, but a little differently than before, as the first manager of Moline Airpo

See Full Page