Texas A&M’s Gateway To The World: Easterwood Airport

Article written by David L. Chapman ’67, Texas A&M University Archivist, and first published in the 2006 March/April edition of Texas Aggie magazine.

Passengers arriving and departing McKenzie Terminal at Texas A&M University’s Easterwood Airport undoubtedly give little thought to the origin and history of Aggieland’s compact modern flight facility. Most would be surprised that the very beginnings date back to A&M President William B. Bizzell’s efforts
to build a military air training facility during World War I. Although the war ended before he could convince the military of A&M’s need, the school formed an Army Air Service unit in the Corps of Cadets soon after the end of the war. It was a time when aviation in the United States was the very embodiment of modernity. 
     
While the department of military science responded with formal training soon after the end of the war, academic courses at A&M were far slower in development. In 1928, the department of mechanical engineering introduced ME 428—aerodynamics—as a senior elective. Over the next ten years the department added additional aeronautical courses. By 1938, the demand for the courses had
increased to the point that the board of directors approved the creation of the department of aeronautical engineering. It soon became painfully obvious that Texas A&M needed an airport and the facilities to put theoretical knowledge into practice. 

In 1939, Gibb Gilchrist, then dean of engineering at Texas A&M, met with officers of the Civil Aeronautics Authority to approve the site of an airport for the college. Gilchrist wrote, “Some school in the south is going to be developed into a real aeronautical training ground.” To Gilchrist, that school was Texas A&M. At the time, colleges and universities across the nation were building airports to provide practical applications for classroom theory. By the time Gilchrist made his proposal, the CAA had completed preliminary studies and tentatively approved a 500-acre site located 1.5 miles from the Academic Building, just west of what was known locally as Lake Shinola. During this time, representatives of the U. S. Army Air Corps also met with A&M officials to show support for the project. The proposed Aggie airport was important because it was in a direct line about halfway between Barksdale Field in Shreveport, Louisiana, and Randolph Field in San Antonio—two of the largest Army air training facilities.

Before anything of substance could be accomplished in the various discussions, Germany attacked Poland on September 1, 1939, beginning World War II and adding a since of urgency to pilot training. Thousands of new pilots would be needed for national defense, a task well beyond existing military capabilities. One answer to the problem was the CAA’s immediate implementation of the Civilian
Pilot Training Program. This innovative program provided funding at colleges and universities for ground schools and flight training. 
           
In the middle of October, the CAA notified Gilchrist that Texas A&M had been selected as one of the CPTP locations. Naturally, the acceptance was conditional on the completion of the airport. With an even greater sense of urgency, initial site preparation began in January 1940. The bare essentials of grading and surfacing were completed in a month. The 2,200-foot runways were sodded with grass and all was ready for the first flights. This crude little field was just the beginning of Gilchrist’s plans to make the airport a regional center for training and transportation. 

The threat of war spurred improvements as government funds quickly transformed the little grass strip field into a more substantial facility with concrete runways. On May 22, 1941, A&M dedicated the new field and named it for World War I hero Lt. Jesse L. “Red” Easterwood ’10, a close childhood friend of
Gibb Gilchrist. Easterwood, one of the very early naval aviators, was killed while flight-testing a seaplane at Coco Solo, Canal Zone, Panama, on May 19, 1919.

The airport is a symbolic monument to those like Bizzel and Gilchrist who envisioned the growth and needs of both Texas A&M and the surrounding community. It also serves as a memorial to the brave pilots of World War II who learned to fly there and to all the Aggie pilots for whom the romance of flying
did not fade.
 
This Archives article was written by David L. Chapman ’67, Texas A&M University Archivist. It was first published in the 2006 March/April edition of Texas Aggie magazine. Texas Aggie magazine is free to all active members of The Association of Former Students. Become an active member today, and receive your copy of the official magazine of The Association of Former Students.