Harding Field Heroes File, 1941-1946 (bulk 1944-1945). 2.5 linear feet. Location: 78:48-50, OS:H, Room 304. Harding Field was a United States Army Air Corps base located nine miles north of Baton Rouge, La., that operated between 1941 and 1945. From February 1944 to March 1945, Colonel W.G. Schauffler Jr. (1891-1951) was the commanding officer at Harding Field. In June 1944, Col. Schauffler was informed that his only son had been killed in action over the Pacific theater which led directly to the development of the Harding Field Heroes File. The collection includes letters, photographs, and newspaper clippings solicited by Col. Schauffler and sent by next of kin of pilots who graduated from Harding Field. The collection also contains newspaper clippings about the airbase which range from the establishment of the base in 1941 to its decommissioning in 1945. It contains 51 photographs of groups of pilots, individual portraits, and pinning ceremonies. It also contains a casualty list and a painting with the "72 Fighter Wing" emblem. Mss. 0893.