Camp Fannin

Duane's take

Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Camp Fannin, right outside Tyler in Smith County. Now settle in, because this one's got layers. You've got infantry, prisoners of war, a women's corps, and a punchline at the end that nobody saw coming.

World War II had a way of doing that to a place. During that war, Texas saw numerous military bases either expanded or established across the state. And one of them started life as something it never became.

Camp Fannin was originally planned as an Air Corps installation. Then plans changed, and construction began in late 1942. By spring of 1943, the camp had opened its gates.

September of that same year, it was formally dedicated. And it was named, the marker tells us, in honor of Texas revolutionary hero James Walker Fannin, Jr. Now, once it was up and running, Camp Fannin's main purpose was an Infantry Replacement Training Center, an IRTC.

Think about what that phrase means for a second. Replacement training. During peak operation, as many as thirty-five thousand to forty thousand men were trained every four months, trained to replace troops killed, wounded, or recalled from battlefronts around the world.

That number, that every-four-months rhythm, it gives you a sense of the scale of what was happening out there beyond the pine trees. But the camp held more than infantry recruits. From 1943 to 1946, Camp Fannin also housed a German prisoner of war facility.

And in 1944, a Women's Army Corps installation came to the camp as well. So at any given moment, this place was a small city unto itself, and a complicated one at that. The local economy felt it.

About three thousand civilian workers were employed by the camp, and numerous new businesses rose up to cater to the military trade. When the war ended and the camp wound down, many of the facilities were acquired by business interests, and the marker notes they are still in use. Now.

Here is where the story takes its turn. Soldiers who had been stationed at Camp Fannin returned to East Texas after the war to settle down. That part you might expect.

But the marker also tells us that at least one former German prisoner came back too. Came back to East Texas. To stay.

Some places just have a way of getting into a man, friend or enemy or somewhere in between.

What the marker says

Numerous military bases were expanded or established throughout Texas during World War II. Originally planned as an Air Corps installation, construction of Camp Fannin began in late 1942. Named in honor of Texas revolutionary hero James Walker Fannin, Jr., the camp opened in the spring of 1943 and was formally dedicated in September. The main purpose of the camp was an Infantry Replacement Training Center (IRTC), and during its peak operation as many as 35,000 to 40,000 men were trained every four months to replace troops killed, wounded, or recalled from the war's battlefronts. In addition to the infantry training center, the camp also included a German prisoner of war facility from 1943 to 1946, and a Women's Army Corps (WAC) installation in 1944. Camp Fannin had a tremendous impact on the local economy, employing about 3,000 civilian workers and giving rise to numerous new businesses catering to the military trade. Many of the camp's facilities were later acquired by business interests and are still in use. Soldiers stationed here, as well as at least one former German prisoner, returned to East Texas to settle after the war. (1989)