During World War I, Kelly Field in San Antonio reached its peak training capacity, and the U.S. Army built several auxiliary landing fields in South Texas, including one in Laredo north of Fort McIntosh. In 1940, as the nation faced another war, the city of Laredo hired local contractor H.B. Zachry to build an airport to replace the landing strip and named it Zachry Field in honor of his father, U.S. Army Colonel John Zachry. In 1941, local leaders persuaded U.S. senator Morris Sheppard, chairman of the Senate Military Affairs Committee, to petition for a wartime training facility in Laredo. On May 7, 1942, the U.S. military acquired Zachry Field and expanded the site to more than 2,085 acres, with an additional 685,000 acres of aerial target ranges northwest toward Eagle Pass and 35,000 acres north of the city for ground target practice. In 1944, Laredo Army Air Field Flexible Gunnery School reached peak capacity with more than 15,000 personnel and 250 aircraft. Airmen trained there in gunnery instruction and airplane and turret mechanics for medium and heavy bombers, while Women Airforce Service pilots flew engineering tests. In late 1945, the field became inactive and the land transferred to the War Assets Administration. In 1952, during the Korean War, the site reactivated as Laredo Air Force Base, providing basic training for cadets from the U.S. Air Force and 24 North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries. The base continued in operation until 1973, when the military declared the facility excess and deactivated the command. The site reopened in 1975 as Laredo International Airport, continuing its long association with aviation history in the area.