In 1941 the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) informed Greenville officials that the city would receive Federal assistance to build a civilian airport as part of the country's preparation for possible entry into World War II. In April 1941 U.S. Congressman Sam Rayburn notified Hunt County that the civilian airport project would become part of a $5 million Army Air Force training base housing 3,000 to 4,000 personnel and 300 airplanes. The base was named for Lt. Truett Majors, the first pilot from Hunt County killed in action in World War II.

Construction of the base and three auxiliary airfields in the county boosted the local economy and provided employment for thousands of area residents. The base became fully operational on January 5, 1943.

Majors Army Airfield provided cadet pilots with preflight and primary training. When not exercising, studying, or training in BT-13s and P-47s the cadets visited Greenville for recreation and to socialize with local citizens. In addition to U.S. Army Air Corps pilots, companies of Women's Army Corps members, Royal Air Force pilots, and Mexican Air Force pilots were trained here. The base became an advanced training center before being deactivated on July 15, 1945.

Military aviation in Val Verde County flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Galbraith Perry Rodgers landed his plane at Del Rio while on the first transcontinental flight across the United State. The arrival of a plane in Del Rio was a major event then, but it became a common sight in later years. During World War I, the town was a center of aerial patrols along the United State-Mexico Border. In 1919 planes were dispatched to the area in reaction to Pancho Villa's border raids. One pilot stationed here to fly border patrols was Lt. James H. Doolittle, who later gained international attention in World War II. In the 1940s Del Rio was chosen as the site of an Air Base because of the flat terrain and the mild climate. Opened as the first B-26 bombardier school, Laughlin Air Force Base was named in honor of Lt. Jack T. Laughlin, the first pilot from Del Rio killed in action in World War II. Later a pilot training school, it closed after the war. In 1952, through the efforts of local residents, it was reopened. Laughlin has been utilized for Astronaut Training, strategic Air Command U-2 reconnaissance missions, the development of Air Training Command's undergraduate pilot training mission, and other important innovations.

A United States aviation training field, originally financed by the nearby cities of Edinburg, McAllen and Mission, was started here in 1941. Named for Lt. Frank M. Moore, a pilot killed in World War I, it was used for the training of World War II airmen. After the field was closed in 1945, the facilities were shared by a tri-cities commercial airport and the Weaver H. Baker Memorial Tuberculosis Hospital. Reactivated as Moore Air Force Base during the Korean War of the 1950s, the site has housed research offices of the United States Department of Agriculture since 1960.

After Terrell was established as a railroad town in 1873, its citizens saw the need for a community burial ground. In 1878 John R. Terrell sold 7 acres of land for use as a cemetery, and the first burials were those of Peter Meinenger and Dr. G.W. Ridgell. In 1925 the Oakland Cemetery Association was founded to provide perpetual care for the gravesites. The name Oakland Memorial Park was adopted in 1931. Among those buried here are professional artist Frank Reaugh and 20 members of the British Royal Air Force who were killed while in training at Terrell during World War II.

Near this point on November 22, 1963, Vice-President Lyndon Baines Johnson took the oath of office as 36th President of the United States. He is the first Texan to hold the office of President.

The ceremony was held in the central compartment of "Air Force One," the military aircraft assigned to the President. The plane was parked on the concrete ramp at Gate 28, east concourse of this terminal.

United States District Judge Sarah T. Hughes, of Dallas, a friend of long standing, was summoned to administer the oath. (Judge Hughes thus became the first woman in history to give the oath of office to a President of the United States). The new Chief Executive, with Mrs. Johnson on his right and Mrs. John F. Kennedy on the left, was sworn into office at 2:38 p.m. In the stresses of the day President Johnson had executive duties thrust upon him immediately during the flight to the Capitol.

For over 30 years he had been in public service. Like some of his ancestors (including a university president) he had taught school, as a young man. He had served with distinction in Congress, 1937 to 1949; and in the U.S. Senate, 1949 - 1960, with an unsurpassed record as Senate Majority Leader.

Built about 1890, this stately late Victorian house combines various influences and styles. The architect was M.T. Eckles, and builder was T.R. Hertzberg, a local businessman. In 1909 Judge Sidney J. Brooks, noted lawyer and first Judge of 57th District Court, bought this house. His son Sidney, Jr., (1895-1917), was one of the first U.S. cadets killed training for World War I duty. Brooks Air Force Base was named for him.

The close of World War II brought new tensions to America that led to the Cold War. Under fear of communism and nuclear assault, the U.S. Army and Air Force simulated a war in one of the largest maneuvers ever to be staged on American soil. Called Operation Long Horn, the simulation included thwarting an invasion and recovering from an atomic attack.

To carry out the mock war, which began in late March 1952, ranchers between Waco and San Angelo signed easements to their land. Several Lometa-area ranches became sites of battles and campgrounds as more than 115,000 troops came to Texas for maneuvers. The town's population grew from 900 to 22,000, and the troops and supporting civilian staff members faced life in a small town. Local residents cooperated and participated by rationing and trading with troops, offering facilities for a mock U.S.O.(United Service Organizations) facility and attending programs and presentations given by soldiers. Such programs included an airdrop of 2,500 troops, as well as weapons, equipment and rations, in a training maneuver that pitted the 31st Infantry, 47th Infantry, and 1st Armored Division against the 82nd Airborne Division out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

In a nationally publicized event, aggressor forces captured and occupied Lampasas (17 mi.SE), establishing mock control of media and setting curfews. The city was liberated near the end of the simulation on April 9, 1952. The $3,300,000 exercise left local residents with damaged ranch land, outbuildings, fences and gates, as well as spooked livestock, but also gave them an opportunity to experience war in their own community.

Plans began in early 1941 for a U.S. Army Air Corps installation to be located in Grayson County. This 1,160-acre site was acquired in June, and Air Corps personnel began arriving in August. The base was to serve as a basic flight training facility. During its construction, the U.S. was drawn into World War II following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7. The first class of flight students, which arrived on December 16, graduated in February 1942 in ceremonies which included the dedication of the base in memory of Lt. Col. Elmer D. Perrin, a Texas test pilot killed in the line of duty in 1941. Pilots trained here served in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Their airplanes ranged from basic trainers of the 1940s to jets of the 1960s and 1970s.

The presence of the air base became important in the life of Grayson County, creating jobs and boosting the local economy. Following the death in 1961 of Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives, many dignitaries, including the President and Vice President, arrived here and were transported by base personnel to the funeral in nearby Fannin County.

Partly because of increased air traffic in the area, Perrin Air Force Base was closed in 1971.

Built 1901 by M.K.& T. (Katy) Railroad, for use as passenger and freight station. Important in development of area. Although many stations closed during 1930's business Depression, this handled peak traffic when Perrin Air Force Base was built south of Pottsboro in 1941. Purchased and moved 1967 by Mr. and Mrs. K.B. Yost, who use it, with minor modifications, as a guest house. Queen Anne period exterior styling is unchanged.

Ten years of concentrated efforts by city officials led to the establishment of a U.S. Army Air Corps Advanced Flying School at Lubbock in the summer of 1941. Built ten miles west of the city, where barracks, runways and other military facilities replaced cotton fields and grassland, the base officially opened in January 1942. Renamed Lubbock Army Flying School the next month as the first class of cadets arrived, the base provided training to more than 7,000 World War II pilots by the time of its deactivation in 1945.

During the post-war years reserve units used the facilities here, and barracks were converted into housing for returning veterans and their families. By 1949 the base was reactivated and renamed in honor of First Lt. Augustus F. Reese, Jr., a Shallowater, Texas, native killed in action during World War II.

Designated a permanent installation by 1950, Reese Air Force Base was transferred to Air Training Command in 1958. Thousands of pilots were trained here in the following decades, but by the 1990s the base was slated for permanent closure, leaving a 56-year legacy of excellence. More than 25,000 men and women earned their wings at Reese, including more than 600 international students from 40 allied countries.