DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker at Arledge Field in Jones County tells this story, and here's my telling of it. Before the United States ever officially entered World War II, there was a general by the name of Henry H. Arnold — folks called him Hap — and Hap Arnold had a vision.
He could see what was coming. The nation was going to need combat pilots, a lot of them, and the Army couldn't do it alone. So he went to the civilian flight schools and said: take these young men, teach them to fly, give them the foundation.
At twenty sites across Texas, flight schools signed contracts and started hammering together the buildings that would turn civilians into airmen. Now the City of Stamford, Texas, wasn't about to be left out of that story. The city went out and bought a section of land — land that had once been part of Swante Magnus Swenson's SMS Ranch — and set it aside for an airfield.
They named it for Roy Wade Arledge, a Stamford businessman who headed the committee that purchased the site back in December of 1940. That's how this patch of Texas got its name on the map. Construction of the field's facilities kicked off in early spring of 1941, under an agreement with the first training contractor: the Lou Foote Flying Service out of Grand Prairie, Texas.
Before the buildings were even fully finished, the first cadet class had already shown up — March 15th, 1941, boots on the ground and eyes on the sky. The field wasn't formally dedicated until May 17th and 18th of that same year, which tells you something about the urgency of the whole enterprise. They were training pilots before the ribbon was cut.
Civilian flying and ground school instructors put those cadets through their paces on Stearman PT-17s and Fairchild PT-19As — two aircraft that became synonymous with the men who learned to fly in the early war years. Meanwhile, military personnel from the 308th Army Air Forces Training Detachment handled the military instruction side of things. Twelve weeks.
That's what it took — a twelve-week training course — and then the graduating cadets moved on to larger air bases for basic and advanced flight training with Air Corps instructors. Along the way, Coleman Flying School, Limited stepped in and assumed the contract for the remainder of the war after Lou Foote's tenure ended. And then, on September 30th, 1944, the final cadet class at Arledge Field graduated.
The work was done. The field had done what Stamford had built it to do. In 1947, the Reconstruction Finance Corporation transferred the buildings and the equipment to the City of Stamford, and the field found a new life as a public airport.
From cattle land to cadet training ground to community airfield — that's the full arc of Arledge Field, and it's all right there carved in stone outside Stamford, Jones County, Texas.
What the marker says
In preparation for the eventual U.S. entry into World War II, Gen. Henry H. "Hap" Arnold sought to expand the nation's combat air forces by asking civilian flight schools to provide the primary phase of training for air cadets. At twenty sites in Texas, flight schools contracted to build facilities for housing and training new pilots. The City of Stamford responded by buying a section of land that was once part of Swante Magnus Swenson's SMS Ranch to be used for an air field. It was named for Stamford businessman Roy Wade Arledge, who headed the committee to purchase the site in December 1940. Construction of Arledge Field facilities began in early spring of 1941 under agreement with the first training contractor, the Lou Foote Flying Service of Grand Prairie, Texas. Coleman Flying School, Ltd. later assumed the contract for the remainder of the war. The field was formally dedicated on May 17-18, 1941. The first cadet class at Arledge Field began on March 15, 1941. Civilian flying and ground school instructors trained the air cadets using Stearman PT-17s and Fairchild PT-19As. Military personnel from the 308th Army Air Forces Training Detachment provided military instruction. Following a twelve-week training course, graduating cadets moved to larger air bases for basic and advanced flight training by Air Corps instructors. The final cadet class at Arledge Field graduated on September 30, 1944. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation transferred the buildings and equipment at the field to the City of Stamford in 1947 for use as a public airport. Texas in World War II, V+60 (2005)