Pyote....
Last evening we wandered over to Julie's cousin Phil's house to eat birthday cake with his son Dan, visiting for the occasion from Gallup, New Mexico. As happens during these events the menfolk, including my Father-in-Law Don and his brother Leon, eventually wandered into the den to sit before the fire and see where the conversation meandered. I don't remember the trail but we somehow arrived at the topic of the old Pyote Army Air Force base located out near Pecos, Texas. It was fondly and informally known as "Rattlesnake Bomber Base". Don and Leon, were kids in Pyote in the mid to late 40's when their Dad was a civilian contractor at the base. Don graduated from Pyote High School where he was the "Salutatorian". There were 8 or so kids in the class.
When I was a kid we used to pass by Pyote while driving down to the Davis Mountains, the huge hangars appearing as ghostly spectors in the distance as we motored by on Highway 80. Mostly abandoned by the mid 1950's, the buildings now have either been torn down or fallen in due to disrepair. But during WWII Pyote was the largest bomber base in the country with two runways over 1½ miles in length, home to over 6,500 troops and the final staging area before the crews flew off to Europe...many to never return.
Don and Leon have talked about their experiences in Pyote before, rather fondly I might add. But last night they revealed more as we sat and talked. To earn a little spending money they had been "pin setters" at the base bowling alley, the officers bowling alley where the big money was. They were paid 10 cents a line to set pins and Don always adds that they tried to work the fighter pilot groups.....they were more fun and bigger tippers!
I learned that besides the U.S. air crews living in Pyote there was a sizeable population of German POW's who did construction and general work around the base. Don said they were mostly allowed to come and go rather freely, this for two reasons. One, where would one escape to in the vastness of West Texas and two, by the later stages of the war, most German POW's were probably very glad to be in a hospitable climate being treated rather well instead of fighting on the Eastern Front. Don remembered several things about the Germans; that they were great bakers and if there were any children around while they were loading watermelons from the fields they would always "accidentally" drop and damage several melons for the by-standers to enjoy.
After the war Pyote became one of the largest storage points for the aircraft that had won the war. At its peak in 1948 the base housed 2,042 stored planes, mostly B-29s and B-17s, including the Enola Gay, from which the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The Dulin boys say that they had the opportunity to climb around this historic aircraft.
I enjoyed our conversation last night. Being interested in history, and especially the history of my home region, it was good to learn some new facts directly from those who experienced it. Here are some photos of the old Pyote Airfield [large images loading--scroll down for Pyote]
Last evening we wandered over to Julie's cousin Phil's house to eat birthday cake with his son Dan, visiting for the occasion from Gallup, New Mexico. As happens during these events the menfolk, including my Father-in-Law Don and his brother Leon, eventually wandered into the den to sit before the fire and see where the conversation meandered. I don't remember the trail but we somehow arrived at the topic of the old Pyote Army Air Force base located out near Pecos, Texas. It was fondly and informally known as "Rattlesnake Bomber Base". Don and Leon, were kids in Pyote in the mid to late 40's when their Dad was a civilian contractor at the base. Don graduated from Pyote High School where he was the "Salutatorian". There were 8 or so kids in the class.
When I was a kid we used to pass by Pyote while driving down to the Davis Mountains, the huge hangars appearing as ghostly spectors in the distance as we motored by on Highway 80. Mostly abandoned by the mid 1950's, the buildings now have either been torn down or fallen in due to disrepair. But during WWII Pyote was the largest bomber base in the country with two runways over 1½ miles in length, home to over 6,500 troops and the final staging area before the crews flew off to Europe...many to never return.
Don and Leon have talked about their experiences in Pyote before, rather fondly I might add. But last night they revealed more as we sat and talked. To earn a little spending money they had been "pin setters" at the base bowling alley, the officers bowling alley where the big money was. They were paid 10 cents a line to set pins and Don always adds that they tried to work the fighter pilot groups.....they were more fun and bigger tippers!
I learned that besides the U.S. air crews living in Pyote there was a sizeable population of German POW's who did construction and general work around the base. Don said they were mostly allowed to come and go rather freely, this for two reasons. One, where would one escape to in the vastness of West Texas and two, by the later stages of the war, most German POW's were probably very glad to be in a hospitable climate being treated rather well instead of fighting on the Eastern Front. Don remembered several things about the Germans; that they were great bakers and if there were any children around while they were loading watermelons from the fields they would always "accidentally" drop and damage several melons for the by-standers to enjoy.
After the war Pyote became one of the largest storage points for the aircraft that had won the war. At its peak in 1948 the base housed 2,042 stored planes, mostly B-29s and B-17s, including the Enola Gay, from which the first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The Dulin boys say that they had the opportunity to climb around this historic aircraft.
I enjoyed our conversation last night. Being interested in history, and especially the history of my home region, it was good to learn some new facts directly from those who experienced it. Here are some photos of the old Pyote Airfield [large images loading--scroll down for Pyote]
