England Air Force Base

The airfield opened October 21, 1942, training B-17 Flying Fortress crews for the war over Europe. It shut down in September 1946, reopened in October 1950 when Korea went hot, and spent the next four decades cycling tactical fighter wings through the jungle heat of central Louisiana before deploying them to NATO rotations, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and three shooting wars. On June 23, 1955, the facility was renamed for Lt. Col. John Brooke England, who died in 1954 attempting to land in heavy fog in France. The 366th Fighter-Bomber Wing became the first Tactical Air Command unit to run six-month rotations at Aviano, Italy. The 401st Tactical Fighter Wing deployed to Homestead during the Cuban Missile Crisis as a tactical airstrike unit. The 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing trained and rotated squadrons to Southeast Asia for combat duty. In 1972, the 23rd Tactical Fighter Wing reactivated at England and re-equipped with A-10 Thunderbolt IIs in 1981. The 1991 Base Realignment and Closure Commission ordered the base closed by September 1992. It shut down December 15, 1992. Units from England served in World War II, Vietnam, and Desert Storm. The runways and buildings are now Alexandria International Airport. LSU Medical Center occupies part of the former base.