DUANE
Duane's take
Here's what the official marker has to say, and I'll tell it the way it deserves to be told. Back in 1941, the Civil Aeronautics Administration reached out to Greenville officials with some welcome news — the city was going to receive Federal assistance to build a civilian airport. The country was bracing itself, getting ready for the possibility of being pulled into World War II, and airports were part of that preparation.
So far, so good. But then, in April of that same year, U.S. Congressman Sam Rayburn came back with a different kind of news altogether.
What had started as a modest civilian airport project was about to become something considerably larger. Hunt County, Rayburn informed them, was getting a five-million-dollar Army Air Force training base — housing three thousand to four thousand personnel and three hundred airplanes. That's not a landing strip.
That's a small city with wings. Now, the base needed a name. And here's where the story takes a turn that deserves a moment of quiet.
It was named for Lieutenant Truett Majors — the first pilot from Hunt County killed in action in World War II. The name wasn't chosen lightly, and it shouldn't be heard lightly either. Construction of the base and three auxiliary airfields across the county put thousands of area residents to work and gave the local economy a real shot in the arm.
And on January 5th, 1943, Majors Army Airfield became fully operational. What happened there was something remarkable. Cadet pilots came through for preflight and primary training, getting their hours in BT-13s and P-47s.
When they weren't in the air or hitting the books or running drills, they'd head into Greenville — to socialize, to breathe a little, to remember what normal life felt like. But here's the part that tends to surprise people: Majors wasn't just training U.S. Army Air Corps pilots.
Women's Army Corps members were stationed and trained there. Royal Air Force pilots came over from Britain. Mexican Air Force pilots trained alongside them all.
One airfield in Hunt County, Texas — and it was turning out aviators for multiple nations during one of the most consequential conflicts in human history. Before it was done, the base became an advanced training center. It was deactivated on July 15th, 1945.
The war was ending, the cadets had gone on, and the skies over Hunt County grew quiet again. But the name on that base — Lieutenant Truett Majors — that one doesn't fade.
What the marker says
In 1941 the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) informed Greenville officials that the city would receive Federal assistance to build a civilian airport as part of the country's preparation for possible entry into World War II. In April 1941 U. S. Congressman Sam Rayburn notified Hunt County that the civilian airport project would become part of a $5 million Army Airforce training base housing 3,000 to 4,000 personnel and 300 airplanes. The base was named for Lt. Truett Majors, the first pilot from Hunt County killed in action in World War II. Construction of the base and three auxiliary airfields in the county boosted the local economy and provided employment for thousands of area residents. The base became fully operational on January 5, 1943. Majors Army Airfield provided cadet pilots with preflight and primary training. When not exercising, studying, or training in BT-13s and P-47s the cadets visited Greenville for recreation and to socialize with local citizens. In addition to U. S. Army Air Corps pilots, companies of \Women's Army Corps members, Royal Air Force pilots, and Mexican Air Force pilots were trained here. The base became an advanced training center before being deactivated on July 15, 1945. Sesquicentennial of Texas Statehood 1845 - 1995