05/27/2024
Memorial Day remembrance, - The former Reese Air Force Base in Lubbock was named in honor of Augustus Franklin Reese.
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Lieutenant Reese, assigned to the 1st Fighter Group, was killed on 14 May 1943 near Cagliari , Sardinia, when his Lockheed P-38 Lightning struck the ground after a strafing run on a train.
The following article appeared in the 20 March 1949 issue of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal newspaper.
"Reburial Rites Slated
For Lt. A. F. Reese, Jr.
Reburial services for 1st Lt. A. F. Reese, jr., of Shallowater, who was killed while flying a P-38 over Cagliari, Sardinia, May 14, 1943, have been set for 11 a.m. March 28 at Fort Sam Houston National cemetery in San Antonio, his parents have been informed.
Rev. J. H. Bryant, pastor of the First Methodist church at Lorenzo, is to officiate. He was formerly pastor at Shallowater.
Lt. Reese was a member of the Hat and Ring squadron, the group that Capt. Eddie Rickenbacker flew with in World War I. Rickenbacker had presented the squadron with squadron rings only a short time before Lt. Reese went down.
Lt. Reese was awarded the Air Medal with two Oak Leaf clusters and the Purple Heart medals. A graduate of Shallowater High school and Texas Tech, Lt. Reese was employed by the Texas Highway department before he entered service."
Reese Air Force Base is named in honor of 1st Lt Augustus F. Reese, Jr., of Shallowater, Texas, who lived about ten miles north of the base. He was killed in action at Cagliari, Sardinia, May 14, 1943, while flying a P-38 on a voluntary mission to destroy a railroad supply train. Lieutenant Reese was honored when his name was selected for the base at the suggestion of a committee of Lubbock residents.
K.I.A.- P-38 AirCraft Lieutenant Reese, assigned to the 1st Fighter Group, was killed on 14 May 1943 near Cagliari , Sardinia, when his Lockheed P-38 Lightning struck the ground after a strafing run on a train. The following article appeared in the 20 March 1949 issue of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journa...
