Texas National Guard engineers clear the way 130617-Z-ZB630-391

Camp Bowie is a

United States National Guard The National Guard is a state-based military force that becomes part of the reserve components of the United States Army and the United States Air Force when activated for federal missions.Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

on the southern outskirts of Brownwood.

History

Camp Bowie, named in honor of the

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

patriot

James Bowie James Bowie ( ) ( – March 6, 1836) was a 19th-century American pioneer, slave smuggler and trader, and soldier who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He was among the Americans who died at the Battle of the Alamo. Stories of h ...

, was a military training facility during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, and was the third camp in Texas to be so named. From 1940 to 1946 it grew to be one of the largest training centers in Texas. In 1940, the war situation in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

caused the

United States Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...

to determine that it was time to strengthen the defense system. President

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...

was handed the power to mobilize the National Guard units. The 36th Division of the Texas National Guard unit arrived at Camp Bowie, located then in Fort Worth, in mid-December for their year's training, but before training was finished, war had been declared. On September 19, 1940, the War Department announced that a camp would be built at Brownwood. Work began at the campsite on September 27, 1940. The Camp was the first major defense project in the state and there was no scarcity of labor when the building work began. In 1943, the first

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

prisoners of war arrived; many were members of Erwin Rommel's

Afrika Corps The Afrika Korps or German Africa Corps (, }; DAK) was the German expeditionary force in Africa during the North African Campaign of World War II. First sent as a holding force to shore up the Italian defense of its African colonies, the f ...

. The 2,700 men worked as day-laborers for the farms in central Texas. On August 1, 1946 the War Department notified Texas members of Congress that the Camp had been declared "surplus". The Civilian War Assets Administration was to take charge and began the distribution of the land and buildings. Camp Bowie suffered a large grass fire in July 2008, where several hundred acres of dry grassy areas of the facility were burned. Camp Bowie remains an active military training station and recently completed construction of new facilities including a

firing range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by militar ...

and several ammunition storage bunkers.

References

External links

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Camp Bowie
:- Written account from Joseph E Lehman between November 1943 and April 1944" Se

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Camp Bowie - Information from GlobalSecurity.org

* ttp://www.browncountyhistory.org/pow-camp-bowie.html Article regarding the POW camp {{Authority control Buildings and structures in Brown County, Texas Bowie Installations of the United States Army National Guard Military facilities in Texas 1940 establishments in Texas Texas Military Department Texas Military Forces

History

See also

References

External links