Live At Laughlin

Author: Spindle Holtz

(Another ‘take’ on Willie’s concert at Laughlin)

Willie was filming "Barbarosa" at Alamo Village in Brackettville (and other locations) at the time. Laughlin AFB had better accommodations plus security than Del Rio. The host officer, Jim Thomas, said they went through a bunch of Tequila. My boss in Pre-PIT, Jerry Knesek (a native Texan), gave him the ride of his life, I reckon. Willie kept his promise and brought his band down from Austin for a 2+ hour concert on one of the playing fields. It was just for the base and a few dignitaries from Del Rio. The engineer gave Jim a recording of the concert off of his equipment, saying, "Keep this quiet or our record label will kill us!" Of course, there were 20+ copies floating around the base within a week. I have a copy of "Willie - Live at Laughlin!" Here are some photos I took at the concert. The blue t-shirt he's wearing is the 86th FTS Armadillo Air Corps.