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 Military Aviation in Val Verde County
N 29° 22.067 W 100° 47.924
14R E 325412 N 3250078
Third of four historical markers in a small roadside pullout on the eastbound US 90 near the main gate entrance to Laughlin Air Force Base outside of Del Rio, Texas
Waymark Code: WMPN9J
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 09/25/2015
Views: 3
Third of four historical markers in a small roadside pullout on the eastbound US 90 near the main gate entrance to Laughlin Air Force Base outside of Del Rio, Texas, this historic marker discusses the 105-year (as of 2015) history of military aviation in Val Verde County, for which Del Rio is the county seat.
Marker Number: 3372
Marker Text:
In 1911, eight years after the Wight Brothers' historic flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Galbraith Perry Rodgers landed his plane at Del Rio while on the first transcontinental flight across the United State. The arrival of a plane in Del Rio was a major event then, but it became a common sight in later years. During World War I, the town was a center of aerial patrols along the United State-Mexico Border. In 1919 planes were dispatched to the area in reaction to Pancho Villa's border raids. One pilot stationed here to fly border patrols was Lt. James H. Doolittle, who later gained international attention in World War II.
In the 1940s Del Rio was chosen as the site of an Air Base because of the flat terrain and the mild climate. Opened as the first B-26 bombardier school, Laughlin Air Force Base was named in honor of Lt. Jack T. Laughlin, the first pilot from Del Rio killed in action in World War II. Later a pilot training school, it closed after the war. In 1952, through the efforts of local residents, it was reopened. Laughlin has been utilized for Astronaut Training, strategic Air Command U-2 reconnaissance missions, the development of Air Training Command's undergraduate pilot training mission, and other important innovations. (1981)
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