The scene was filmed in Kingman, AZ. I visited the site years ago but there was nothing left of the WW II facility. A man who had been there at the time the planes were scrapped said that the first buyer never even moved the planes, he only drained the av gas out of the tanks to recoup his purchase price + profit and sold them to a second buyer who removed all the platinum-tipped spark plugs.... and so on down the line until the aluminum went into the smelter.
This scene is a powerful and emotional shot. I get the same feeling watching the scene in "Twelve O'clock High" where Dean Jagger is walking on his old runway and we hear the sound of big radial engines starting and the grass blowing in the prop wash. The two movies' directors deserved academy awards for these scenes alone!