A 2025-discovered footlocker of WWII pilot Leland Norton was added to the Norton AFB Museum, honoring the base’s legacy and those who served.

The Norton Air Force Base Museum in San Bernardino, opened in 2013, preserves the history of a base that closed in 1994, impacting the local economy. It features personal artifacts, aircraft parts, and memorabilia from former military and civilian personnel, including a 1980 flight certificate from pioneering female pilot Lieutenant Colonel Kathy LaSauce, a C-141 windscreen, a vintage flight simulator, and a handmade control tower stool. A notable addition is a footlocker believed to have belonged to Leland Norton, the base’s namesake and a WWII pilot who died in 1944, discovered in 2025 and donated to the museum. The exhibits honor both the base’s military role and the lives of those who served.