Where does the name of the "Marston" metal matting used to build airstrips in the Pacific come from?

The popular name comes from Marston, North Carolina, a town near the Camp Mackall airfield, where the material was first used. In that area, a 914 by 46 m (3,000 by 150 ft) runway was built with the matting in eleven days. Its first practical use occurred during the Carolina Maneuvers, a series of US Army exercises held in November 1941.

The development of landing mats in the United States began in December 1939 at Langley Field. The design directive for what would become the Marston mat was officially assigned to the Army Corps of Engineers on 11 December 1939. In May 1940 responsibility for development passed to the Engineer Board at Fort Belvoir. The first versions, tested during the summer of 1940, were made of solid, unperforated ribbed steel. In the winter of 1940-1941 the design was modified with the characteristic punched holes of the production version.

Once approved, the Marston mat was used extensively in the Pacific theater of operations. On the islands, the matting was normally covered with crushed, compacted coral or with earth, to form a level surface. A small team of engineers could create a 200 ft wide by 5,000 ft long runway in two days.