DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Bryan Air Force Base in Brazos County. Now settle in, because this patch of Texas ground has seen more history than most places twice its size. It starts in August 1942, when construction began on Bryan Army Air Field — Bryan AAF for short.
The U.S. Army Air Forces had a war department initiative to train pilots and instructors, and this place was going to be a big part of that. For a stretch, it was the only instrument instructor school of its kind.
Think about that. One place. And it was right here in Brazos County.
But before a single runway was poured, somebody had to give something up. The construction displaced farmers and the entire Riverside community — whole lives uprooted for an airfield covering almost two thousand acres of rural property. That is not a small thing, and it shouldn't be glossed over.
Now, more than a thousand Women Army Service Pilots — the WASPs — came through Bryan Field. More than a thousand. Thirty-eight of them died during training.
You let that number sit for a moment. The base also included a large contingent of African American servicemen and cadets — though, this being wartime America, that contingent was segregated. The airfield itself was a small city unto itself: triangular runway system, hangars, barracks, a theater, a chapel, a hospital, a library.
And then on July 27, 1943, something happened here that nobody had ever done on purpose before. Colonel Joseph Duckworth, flying out of Bryan Field, made the first intentional flights through a hurricane. Not one flight — flights, plural.
The man did it more than once that day. On purpose. Now the war ended, as wars do, and much of the site was obtained by Texas A&M College.
They called it 'The Annex,' and it became home to freshmen, put there to ease the overcrowding at the main campus brought on by hundreds of returning veterans all showing up at once. But the story wasn't done with this ground yet. In 1951, the Korean War pulled the facility back into service.
Reactivated as Bryan Air Force Base — BAFB — it came back as a major jet training base, and this time it was racially integrated. Tuskegee airmen trained here. Pilots from many countries trained here.
And among the skilled instructors walking those flight lines were future astronauts. Let that one land. The base was deactivated in 1961, deeded back to the college, and eventually developed into the Riverside Campus — a multi-faceted part of Texas A&M University today.
From displaced farmers to WASPs to hurricane flights to future astronauts, this ground carried a lot of history. Some of it proud, some of it painful, all of it real.
What the marker says
During World War II, construction of Bryan Army Air Field (Bryan AAF) began in August 1942. The U.S. Army Air Forces site grew out of a war department initiative to train pilots and instructors. The site was the only instrument instructor school for some time, and the airfield hosted more than 1,000 Women Army Service Pilots (WASPS), 38 of whom died during training. From Bryan Field on July 27, 1943, Col. Joseph Duckworth made the first intentional flights through a hurricane. The field also included a large but segregated contingent of African American servicemen and cadets. Bryan AAF covered almost 2,000 acres of rural property. Its construction displaced farmers and the entire Riverside community, but the airfield brought significant economic impact to Brazos County. The airfield had a triangular runway system, hangars, barracks, a theater, chapel, hospital and library. After the end of World War II, much of the site was obtained by Texas A&M College. ‘The Annex’ was home to freshmen to alleviate overcrowding at the main campus due to hundreds of returning veterans. Reactivated as Bryan Air Force Base (BAFB) in 1951 in response to the Korean War, the facility was a major jet training base and racially integrated. Tuskegee airmen and pilots from many countries were trained by skilled instructors, including future astronauts. The base was deactivated in 1961, deeded to the college and eventually developed into the Riverside Campus, a multi-faceted part of Texas A&M University. (2016)