Pyote Army Air Field was established as a B-17 Flying Fortress crew-training base during World War II.

Construction of the facilities, including five large hangars, shops, warehouses, and living quarters, began on 5 September 1942.

Troops and civilian technicians poured in, and the population of the base grew steadily to a peak of over 6,500 in October 1944.

Despite morale problems caused by isolation and the shortage of off-base recreation and of dependents' housing, Pyote achieved a distinguished record in molding inexperienced individuals into effective bomber crews.

After the 1953 Armistice in Korea, the Air Force ordered most of the remaining planes at Pyote to be scrapped, and activity on the base was sharply curtailed.

A smelter was installed on the base and as the aircraft were disassembled and parts removed, the remnants were recycled with the metal sold for scrap.

As a GCI station, the squadron's role was to guide interceptor aircraft toward unidentified intruders picked up on the unit's radar scopes.

In addition to the radar station, the Air Force built base housing and several support buildings.

[6] With the ADC facility closed, Pyote AFB was declared surplus, and turned over to the General Services Administration (GSA) for disposal.

The Confederate Air Force used the runway and some of the remaining buildings on the flightline in the early 1960s, but the remoteness of the base led to it being closed by 1965 as uneconomical.

Runways and taxiways, hardstands, and the flightline apron exist with tall weeds and other sparse vegetation slowly taking over the concrete areas.

The Air Defense Command radar site southeast of the base is abandoned and full of junk vehicles; the buildings on it are still standing in a deteriorated state.

[8] The original entrance has been refurbished, and today stands as a memorial to the men and women who worked and trained here, many of whom gave their lives while learning to effectively use the B-17 and B-29.

In the town of Pyote, about 15 miles west of Monahans, a museum honors the memory of the men and women who served there.

Pyote Army Air Field played an important role in the local community during World War II.

[citation needed] This article incorporates public domain material from the Air Force Historical Research Agency