Before Runways
This file appears in: Rich Field Army Air Base
It was not until 1942 and the beginning of the Second World War that the airfield constructed official runways in the shape on an X. Before that time, the planes took off and landed on a large dirt field. This photo not only shows airplanes ready to take off, but also a great deal of lines scrawled in the dirt from planes getting in formation, taking off, and landing.
This file appears in: Rich Field Army Air Base
Rich Field Army Air Base
In the midst of war, some towns stay far removed from the action. For Waco in 1917, this was far from the case. Engineers and workers broke ground for Camp MacArthur training base in July, famously taking up over 10,700 acres of the small Texas…