DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Camp Barkeley, right here in Taylor County. Now, you want to talk about something that rose up out of the Texas dirt and became one of the largest military camps in the entire nation — we're talking about Camp Barkeley. From February 15, 1941, to March 21, 1945, this ground was a world unto itself.
At its peak, sixty thousand men were in training here. Sixty thousand. To put that in a frame you can feel, Camp Barkeley eventually grew to be a complete city unit twice the size of Abilene — the Abilene of the 1940s.
And it wasn't just tents and mud. This place had a 2,300-bed hospital, two cold storage plants, a bakery, four theaters, two service clubs for enlisted men, fifteen chapels, and thirty-five post exchange buildings. Most of the men were housed in hutments, except for some four thousand in barracks.
The camp carried the name of Private David B. Barkeley of the 89th Division — a man who died on a secret scouting expedition behind German lines during the Meuse-Argonne Battle of World War I. That name wasn't chosen lightly.
Among the famous units trained here were the 45th and 90th Infantry Divisions and the 11th and 12th Armored. But there's another chapter people don't always mention — the medical one. A medical replacement training center, the largest in the country, was established right here, with fifteen battalions.
Then in May of 1942, the Medical Administrative Corps Officer Candidate School was activated, and before it was done, it graduated about twelve thousand five hundred candidates. That is not a small number. Now — part of the post was also a German prisoner-of-war camp.
And here's where the story takes a turn that had Abilene citizens more than a little unsettled. Once, some of those prisoners escaped. Escaped.
And if that weren't enough, others attempted to tunnel under the fences. Out there in West Texas, beneath the wide-open sky, men were diggin' their way toward freedom — and the town nearby was watching the horizon. In 1945, Camp Barkeley was declared surplus.
Just like that, a city twice the size of Abilene — sixty thousand soldiers, fifteen chapels, a bakery and all — quietly stepped off the stage of history. Some places just hold more story than the land looks like it ought to.
What the marker says
(February 15, 1941 - March 21, 1945) Site of main entrance to Camp Barkeley, one of the nation's largest military camps of World War II. At peak, 60,000 men were in training here. Named for Private David B. Barkeley of the 89th Division, who died on a secret scouting expedition behind German lines during the Meuse-Argonne Battle of World War I. Among famous units trained here were the 45th and 90th Infantry Divisions and the 11th and 12th Armored. A medical replacement training center, the largest in the country, was also established here, with 15 battalions. In May, 1942, the Medical Administrative Corps Officer Candidate School was activated and graduated about 12,500 candidates. Camp Barkeley eventually grew to be a complete city unit twice the size of Abilene of the 1940s. It had a 2,300-bed hospital, 2 cold storage plants, a bakery, 4 theaters, 2 service clubs for enlisted men, 15 chapels, and 35 post exchange buildings. The military personnel were housed in hutments, except for some 4,000 in barracks. Part of the post was also a German prisoner-of-war camp. Once some of the prisoners escaped, to the alarm of Abilene citizens, and others attempted to tunnel under the fences. Camp Barkeley was declared surplus in 1945. (1969)