Laughlin AFB’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold just one old photo of Laughlin AFB. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story
from WikipediaRead it all ↗Laughlin AFB was originally named Laughlin Army Air Field on March 3, 1943, after Jack T. Laughlin, a B-17E Flying Fortress pilot. He was trained as a pilot and was actually co-pilot of B-17E, tail number 41-2476. On the day of his first bombing mission, he was bumped by the Group Commander Major Stanley K. Robinson (Robinson was co-pilot next to pilot Capt. Walter W. Sparks). Major Robinson brought along his own combat-experienced navigator, Lt. Richard Cease. Laughlin had no assigned position on the plane for the mission. He became Del Rio's first World War II casualty when the plane he was flying in (most likely as a waist gunner for the mission) was lost at sea, having succumbed to damage received over the Makassar Strait on 29 (or 28) January 1942. The damage occurred during two bombing runs against Japanese warships and transports in the Makassar Strait off the coast of Balik…
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Laughlin AFB’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Laughlin AFB’s history is told.
1 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewSSGT Joseph Stelpflug of the 47th…, 1983: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Laughlin AFB, decade by decade
1990s
Nothing in Laughlin AFB is on the National Register yet
That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Laughlin AFB has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Cassinelli Gin House in Del Rio, 7.3 miles away.
Laughlin AFB and the nearest listed places
Closest to Laughlin AFB
Val Verde County Courthouse And JailDel Rio · Classical7.3miSouthern Pacific Passenger DepotDel Rio · Building7.6miDel Rio Cemeteries Historic DistrictDel Rio · District8.5mi
San Antonio US Post Office and CourthouseBrackettville · Beaux Arts · Built 193714.3miHow a place gets listed
Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as SSGT Joseph Stelpflug of the 47th Field Maintenance Squadron performs adjustments on a piece of equipment (1983) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.