DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Burleson County in World War II. Pull over if you need to — this one deserves your full attention. Out of a population of eighteen thousand people, Burleson County sent close to thirteen hundred men and women into uniform during World War II.
Thirteen hundred. From a county where many of those souls had never once set foot outside its borders before the war called them away. And of that number, four hundred and fifty had walked the halls of Caldwell High School — drafted or voluntarily enlisted, every one of them.
They deployed around the world. But the story doesn't wait for deployment orders to get heavy. At Pearl Harbor — right there at the very onset of American combat — Seaman Second Class Thomas J.
Gary of Somerville was aboard the U.S.S. California when the attack came. Gary gave his life saving his crewmates from burning.
The Navy posthumously awarded him the Navy Cross. Then they named two ships in his honor. Two ships.
That's the kind of man Burleson County sent into the world. The local National Guard unit, Company E, One Hundred and Forty-Third Infantry, Thirty-Sixth Division, landed at Salerno, Italy, and sustained heavy losses — dozens of men killed, wounded, or captured. The word "dozens" is doing a lot of work in that sentence, and every one of those dozens was somebody's son, somebody's brother.
Among the prisoners of war: First Lieutenant Hubert Womble, shot down over Romania during the Ploesti Oil Field raids. And USMC Major Paul Brown — who survived the Bataan Death March in the Philippines, which is a feat of human endurance almost beyond imagining — but who died in a Japanese prison camp before he could come home. The county's citizen soldiers were on the Normandy beaches on D-Day.
They fought in the European Theater and the Pacific Theater both. Women from Burleson County joined the Army and Navy Nurse Corps. Scores more went to work in defense plants.
Back home, the county wasn't sitting still either. Recycling drives went up across the county to maximize the homefront war effort. Some families were recognized with citations as Agriculture Victory Leaders — keeping farming operations going even while shorthanded.
And get this: at least five Burleson County families had five children at once serving in the military. Five from one family. Five.
Dozens of Burleson County men were killed during the war — on battlefields overseas and in training accidents on American soil. The marker doesn't let you forget that second part. Not every sacrifice happened under enemy fire.
Thirteen hundred people out of eighteen thousand. Close to one in fourteen. Through countless heroic and unselfish acts, the marker says, they demonstrated a commitment to restoring liberty to the world.
That's a big phrase — restoring liberty to the world. But Burleson County, population eighteen thousand, gave it everything they had trying to make it true.
What the marker says
During World War II, out of a population of 18,000, close to 1300 men and women of Burleson County joined the military, with 450 who attended Caldwell High School drafted or voluntarily enlisted. Many had never been outside the county before their service, but they deployed around the world in defense of freedom. Area residents sacrificed for the war effort abroad and at home from the onset of American combat. At Pearl Harbor, Seaman 2/C Thomas J. Gary of Somerville died aboard the U.S.S. California while giving his life to save his crewmates from burning. The Navy posthumously awarded Gary the Navy Cross and named two ships in his honor. Local National Guard Unit Company E, 143rd Infantry, 36th Division, sustained heavy losses at Salerno, Italy, with dozens of men killed, wounded, or captured. Other prisoners of war included 1st Lt. Hubert Womble, shot down over Romania during the Ploesti Oil Field raids, and USMC Major Paul Brown, who survived the Bataan Death March in the Philippines but died in a Japanese prison camp. The county’s citizen soldiers stormed Normandy Beaches on D-Day and fought in European and Pacific Theaters. Many women joined the Army and Navy Nurse Corps, and scores more worked in defense plants. Recycling drives around the county maximized the homefront war support effort. Some families received citations as “Agriculture Victory Leaders” for continuing farming operations during the war, even while short-handed at least five county families had five children at once serving in the military. Dozens of Burleson County men were killed during World War II, on battlefields overseas and in training accidents on American soil. Through countless heroic and unselfish acts, citizens demonstrated commitment to restoring liberty to the world. (2008)