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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) |
