Air Power soars over Laughlin for more than 100 years

  • Published
  • By Jack Waid
  • 47th Flying Training Wing Historian
LAUGHLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Texas --  Nearly 100 years ago, military operational aviation was starting right outside Laughlin's main gate.

One hundred years later, Laughlin maintains the most sophisticated training aircraft and simulators in the world. Our mission is on firm ground with secure aircraft featuring internal instruments and the near-guarantee of a safe landing. But the foundation of America's air power 100 years ago was much less stable. The beginning of air power in March 1916 was a train holding crates filled with eight Army Signal Corps aircraft. Rather than flying, these aircraft were rolling into combat.

In addition to aircraft onboard the Southern Pacific locomotive was many of our Air Force's forefathers. Some of the greats included Capt. Benjamin Foulois, the only aviation squadron commander in the Army and the first military trained pilot, and Sergeant Vernon Burge, our first enlisted pilot. These men, along with 91 enlisted men, officers and one civilian, all aviation minded intrepid warriors, rode together. They steamed West and Northwest to the forward operating base and staging area for a campaign that would see the first military use of aircraft in a combat role.

March 13, 1916, the 1st Aero Squadron steamed through Texas, passing the future site of Laughlin's main gate. Their movement was in response to Francisco "Poncho" Villa's attack on the sleepy little town of Columbus, N.M. Villa's invasion prompted the U.S. government to forward deploy the largest military force assembled in one area since the Civil War. Infantry, cavalry, trucks, motorcycles, horses and wagons all assembled under the command of Gen. "Blackjack" Pershing. As Pershing prepared to cross into Mexico in pursuit of Villa, he was missing his newest weapon, the aircraft still being assembled by the 1st Aero Squadron at Fort Sam Houston, Texas.

Just a few days later on March 15, 1916, Pershing began crossing into Mexico as the 1st Aero Squadron arrived in Columbus and continued assembling their eight JN-3 biplanes, known as a "Jenny." A Jenny, which featured a front mounted engine and was constructed with wood, wires and fabric, was a more advanced aircraft than the Rodgers Wright Flyer that flew over New Mexico's skies in 1911. But in 1916, an automobile in Columbus was rare and even rarer was the sight of a group of Airmen pulling crates full of airplanes.

With the aircraft assembled and ready for flight, the word "contact" was announced as the engines roared during the first mission of the 1st Aero Squadron, which focused on reconnaissance and transport dispatching. Although their first mission was successful, this success was short lived. They did not make contact with the main body of Villa band of renegades and one aircraft received enemy fire. Eight aircraft quickly dwindled to two functional planes and those were soon discarded for new arrivals.

Cessation of Pershing's movements in Mexico brought a halt to the 1st Aero Squadrons activities in Mexico. However, the aviators continued to train. This training and their participation in a combat role was more important than they could have known. In 1918, the lessons gained during the Punitive Expedition of 1916 by the men of the 1st Aero Squadron would prove invaluable to the United States as we entered into the Great War in Europe.

Military aviation did not stop around Laughlin and Del Rio. Even as the war in Europe began to subside, Villa began to raid into the United States. Once again the air arm of the Army was called upon to provide support. This time around, many of the men were seasoned and the aircraft was more advanced than a few years prior. In 1919, the 90th Aero Squadron was assigned to Del Rio as part of the Army Border Patrol. Attached to the 90th was another of the greats, Lt. Jimmy Doolittle, who later gained fame during WWII.

Aircraft have been seen and heard in the Laughlin area for more than a hundred years. Military aviators and Airmen have been deploying through this area for about the same amount of time by horse, train, car and plane. So the next time you are held up in traffic at the front gate because of a train, remember those who have gone before us, those who have made the history of Laughlin rich and far reaching. We here at Laughlin make history every day. Our future and past starts here.