Moore Field Air Base
Moore Field opened in April 6th, 1942 as an Army Air Forces Training Command school for single engine advanced flying, situated approximately 13-miles northwest of Mission, Texas and less than 10 miles from the Rio Grande River and Mexico. The facility conducted advanced pilot training of 6,000 pilots using BT-13, PT-19, AT-6, P-36 and P-43 aircraft during WW2. The field was named in honor of Lieutenant Frank Murchison Moore, a native of Houston, Texas, who was killed while on a combat fling mission for the United States Army in France in 1918. It was closed on October 31, 1945.
Location
Mission, Texas was selected as the location for the $4,000,000 Air Corps advanced flying school. The school had approximately 2,400 officers, cadets and enlisted men. The base consisted of runways and several building. The buildings included 41 barracks, 10 supply rooms, 10 day rooms, 5 mess halls, 11 administration buildings, 5 warehouses, 3 officers’ quarters, a chapel, recreational building, and a theatre. The men at Moore Field were not able to fly across the border of the Rio Grande but were able to visit the neighboring country during the weekends.
The Setting as Stated in a Moore Field Yearbook
"Flying from a field situated in the heart of the fertile and beautiful Rio Grande Valley, cadets at Moore Field find a climate, an atmosphere, a people and a countryside much to their liking."
"They see from the air a panorama of trim citrus groves, spreading irrigation canals, towering lines of palm trees along country roads and an orderly procession of towns and cities. They see a part of the 8,000 citrus groves which dot the Valley extending from the Laguna Madre coast on the Gulf of Mexico to Rio Grande City in the foothills. They see an area of fertility, made possible by irrigation, surrounded by the barrenness of hundreds of square miles of mesquite."
"Easy to spot from the air are the surrounding towns of Mission, Edinburg and McAllen, where pleasure-hungry cadets know that dances, parties and picnics await them on their open post periods. Here and on the citrus ranches live the people of the Valley who show themselves so thoughtful of the cadets well-being. Also so easy to see is the architecture of the Valley with its Spanish influence so typical of the border area."
"Across the muddy Rio Grande lies the neighboring American Republic of Mexico, over which no cadet is allowed to fly for a closer view. However, week-end trips across the river reveal an old-world atmosphere, unchanged through the years, where easy-going Mexicans live in the manner of their ancestors. Everywhere are old towns with their adobe walls and thatched huts, and here at there are old missions, reminiscent of the days of the Spanish Conquistadors."
The Crew
For every man that was in the air there were fifteen men on the ground, whose functions were to keep them flying. Planes had to be checked and rechecked every day. Cadets had the highest respect for the ground crews, the percentage of accidents at Moore Field were considerably low.
Activities
When the cadets at Moore Field weren’t training they were enjoying several activities within and outside of the base. Some cadets often found themselves traveling to the bordering town of Reynosa, Mexico during the weekends and others were entertained by the mascots on base.
Women in WW2
American women played important roles during World War II, both at home and in uniform. Not only did they give their sons, husbands, fathers, and brothers to the war effort, they gave their time, energy, and some even gave their lives.
Nearly 350,000 American women served in uniform, both at home and abroad, volunteering for the newly formed Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps (WAACs, later renamed the Women’s Army Corps), the Navy Women’s Reserve (WAVES), the Marine Corps Women’s Reserve, the Coast Guard Women’s Reserve (SPARS), the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASPS), the Army Nurses Corps, and the Navy Nurse Corps.
WASP
As the US entered World War II in December 1941, the military needed more pilots for domestic duties in order to send male combat pilots overseas to fight in Allied efforts. As a result, the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) was established during World War II, on August 5, 1943.
Members of WASP became trained pilots who tested aircraft, ferried aircraft, and trained other pilots. Although they did not serve in combat roles, the WASPs served in several crucial missions across the US during World War II. The missions were highly dangerous and required the utmost confidence and skill.
During its period of operation, each member's service had freed a male pilot for military combat or other duties. They flew over 60 million miles; transported every type of military aircraft; towed targets for live anti-aircraft gun practice; simulated strafing missions and transported cargo.
Because the WASPs were not militarized, the US military did not provide transport home for the deceased pilots and did not pay for their funerals. The WASPs worked together to provide funds for the 38 women who died while serving as Air Force service pilots during World War II.
On November 23, 1977, more than 30 years after the WASP program started, President Jimmy Carter signed Public Law 95-202 giving the women who served as civilian Airforce pilots during WWII veteran status. In 2009, President Barack Obama signed a bill to award the WASPs Congressional Gold Medals, one of the highest civilian honors awarded by the United States Congress.