AUSTIN, Texas — Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) could be facing a name change thanks to a new campaign.
The LBJ Foundation put together a proposal to rename Austin's airport after President Lyndon B. Johnson as part of the 60th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act.
While Austin Mayor Kirk Watson says they've only had preliminary conversations with the foundation, Watson told KVUE in a statement that they're exploring the idea.
"We've had a preliminary conversation with foundation officials about this proposal," Watson's statement said. "We'll have a lot more conversations with a lot more people throughout the community as we explore this idea."
Ironically, LBJ was the one who pushed for Bergstrom's name to be used. AUS was named after Captain John August Earl Bergstrom, who was the first Austinite to be killed in action during World War II in 1941. Bergstrom was killed three days after the attack at Pearl Harbor.
In 1943, the Del Valle Airfield was named Bergstrom Army Airfield before it became Bergstrom Air Force Base in 1948.
The base was slated for closure in 1990. When it was finally decommissioned, the land returned to the City of Austin, and Austin-Bergstrom International Airport was born in 1999. The East Runway was named after former Congressman J.J. Pickle, while the West Runway was dedicated to LBJ.
Bergstrom is also memorialized on the Walls of the Missing at the Manila American Cemetery in the Philippines.