Aloe Army Air Field

Aloe Army Air Field, an advanced single-engine training field for fighter pilots, was opened in January 1943 on a 1,820-acre tract five miles southwest of Victoria. The field, named for a nearby railway station, became the new home of the Lake Charles Army Flying School from Lake Charles, Louisiana; Lt. Col. Charles B. Harvin was director. Using the North American AT-6 "Texas" and Curtis P-40 trainers, cadets were schooled in flying and in ground and aerial gunnery. The first class of pilots graduated on February 16, 1943. Soon after V-J Day the government made plans to reassign the field as a subpost of Foster Army Air Field, but both Aloe and Foster were closed on October 31, 1945. Aloe Field, with its 304 buildings, was transferred to Victoria County by the War Assets Administration in 1948, after which the site became Victoria County Airport. In 1960 the airport was moved to Foster Field, and Aloe returned to private ownership.