As part of the 15th anniversary celebration of the Seton Shields Genealogical Grants program, here is a look back at The Lavaca County Historical Commission, which received a grant in 2005.

The Commission held its 9th annual Alton C. Allen Historical Conference in October 2005 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the end of WWII. The theme of the conference was the home-front response to WWII. Pilot training occurred in the area and Lavaca County citizens put up markers whenever airplane crashes occurred that involved the loss of life of Army Air Corps cadets and other flyers. The Conference Committee used the grant toward the purchase of a granite marker to be placed at the site of the last Army Air Corps crash site in Lavaca County during World War II. The last crash, which occurred on August 24, 1944, took the life of A/C James Q. Tingle of Neligh, NE. For some unknown reason, this site was not marked during the 1940s as the previous five sites had been. The marker was put in place in time for the conference on October 22, 2005.

A 2007 update from Commission member Brenda Lincke Fisseler, along with a photo she had enclosed, is shown above.

To apply for a Seton Shields grant, fill out and submit the form here.