Site of Marfa Army Air Field

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about this stretch of West Texas ground. Now, way out here in Presidio County, where the sky goes on forever and the desert doesn't apologize to anybody, the United States Army Air Forces once built something remarkable. This is the site of Marfa Army Air Field, and the story of this place is worth slowing down for.

It was 1942, and the USAAF Western Flying Training Command came looking for a home for an advanced multi-engine flying school. They looked around, they looked at Marfa, and they said: that'll do. So they set to building.

Four hangars. Five runways. A unique angled parking apron that set this field apart from the others.

And out in the surrounding country, several auxiliary fields besides. But here's where the story gets honest with you. Getting this thing off the ground (no pun intended) was a genuine struggle.

There was an initial lack of supplies, a shortage of properly trained personnel, and the housing situation for the people serving here was, to put it charitably, inadequate. The USAAF wrestled with standing up this command effectively, and for a while, the desert was winning. They got there, though.

Support personnel arrived and took their posts. In 1943, a Women's Army Corps unit was established right here at Marfa. African American troops served here as well, assigned primarily to motor pool duties.

And then, in September of 1944, the first class of allied Chinese flying cadets arrived to train at this field; pilots from across the Pacific, learning their craft in the high desert air of Presidio County. Now, May of 1945. Germany surrendered.

And the USAAF started doing the math: maybe Marfa Army Air Field had served its purpose. They placed the installation on standby status, started talking deactivation. Seemed like the end was near.

But the Pacific campaign wasn't finished with this place yet. The need for additional transport aircraft kept the mission alive a little longer, and in June of 1945, the USAAF placed the airfield in the Troop Carrier Command as home of the 818th Army Air Forces Base. One last chapter.

September 1945. The USAAF formally deactivated the base. And what followed was a gradual exodus of the military, and the marker doesn't mince words about what that meant for Marfa.

It was devastating. Buildings were sold off, many of them later found new lives for civilian purposes in Marfa, in Alpine, and other locales scattered around the region. Today, you won't find much to look at.

Foundations. Runways. The land keeping quiet about what it once held.

But those runways remember five of them cutting through the desert. Those foundations remember four hangars and an angled apron and a Women's Army Corps and Chinese cadets banking into the West Texas wind. And the people who served here?

The marker says they remember too; proudly. That's the word it uses. Proudly.

Sometimes that's all a place has left to offer you, and somehow it's enough.

What the marker says

During World War II, the U.S. Army Air Forces (USAAF) established a significant number of training airfields across the state of Texas. The USAAF Western Flying Training Command selected Marfa as the site for an advanced multi-engine flying school in 1942. Due to an initial lack of supplies and properly trained personnel, the USAAF struggled at first to establish the command effectively and to provide adequate housing for those who served here. The airfield had four hangars, five runways and a unique angled parking apron. There were also several auxiliary fields in the area. Support personnel here included a Women's Army Corps unit established in 1943 and African American troops, assigned primarily to motor pool duties. Trainees included allied Chinese flying cadets, the first class arriving in September 1944. After Germany surrendered in May 1945, the USAAF considered deactivating Marfa Army Air Field and placed the installation on standby status. However, the need for additional transport aircraft in the Pacific campaign temporarily extended the mission of the airfield. In June 1945, the USAAF placed the airfield in the Troop Carrier Command as home of the 818th Army Air Forces Base. The USAAF formally deactivated the base in September 1945, and the gradual exodus of the military had a devastating impact on Marfa. The military sold off buildings, many later used for civilian purposes in Marfa, Alpine and other locales. Today, all that remains of the once impressive site are foundations, runways and the memories of those who proudly supported the airfield during the war. Texas in World War II - 2007