Author Dr. Jerry Sanson, Louisiana Maneuvers & Military Museum Staff
Esler Field was constructed as one of the complex of military installations built in Central Louisiana as the United States engaged in World War II. Located near the southern edge of Camp Livingston and in close proximity to Camp Beauregard, the facility was originally known as Camp Beauregard Army Field. Construction began in 1940, and it was ready for use by the summer of 1940 in time for use during the Fall 1940 and later Louisiana Maneuvers.
The name Camp Beauregard Army Field was changed in 1941 to Esler Army Airfield in honor of Lt. Wilmer Esler, a pilot killed when his North American 0-47 monoplane crashed on 11 April 1941. Lt. Esler was the first pilot killed while flying training missions from the facility. The 0-47 was an observation monoplane built by North American Aviation beginning in 1936.
The Army used the facility for flights that allowed referees and Army officers to monitor the progress of the Louisiana Maneuvers. The 67th Observation Group stationed the 107th and 109th Observation Squadrons at the base in 1941-42 and used it for light observation plane flights. The 122nd Observation Squadron of the 68th Observation Group Louisiana Air National Guard also trained at Esler.
The end of the war led to deactivation of Esler Field, and it officially closed on 31 May 1946. The federal government retained ownership of the abandoned surplus property until the 1950s when federal officials transferred ownership to the Rapides Parish Police Jury. The Jury used the remaining infrastructure as a nucleus to build a small commercial airport which continued to use the name Esler Field (ESF). It continued to serve as Central Louisiana’s airport until the 1990s even though its location near the community of Libuse in the northeastern section of the parish was inconvenient for many travelers from the two largest nearby cities, Alexandria and Pineville.
That situation was remedied by the fate of another facility in Central Louisiana left over when World War II ended. Alexandria Army Airfield was also constructed during the war, but rather than leaving it empty after hostilities ceased, the military converted it into Alexandria Air Force Base, renamed England Air Force Base (EAFB) in 1954. EAFB operated at varying levels of readiness until 15 December 1992, when it was closed as part of military cost-cutting measures. Central Louisiana averted potential economic disaster by transforming it into the England Airpark and Community. Part of that reuse plan developed the marvelous runways at EAFB into the Alexandria International Airport (AEX), a facility much closer to its biggest potential customer base than Esler Field which again was abandoned.
The orphan airfield, however, gave the Louisiana National Guard an opportunity to expand its training facilities and return Esler Field to its military roots. Negotiations with the parish led to the Police Jury transferring Esler Field’s management to the National Guard on 1 June 2001, with a 99-year lease. It continues to be an active part of National Guard operations in the central part of the state.
