DUANE
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Duane's take
The way this marker tells it, here's what happened right outside Waco. Named for and dedicated by Lieutenant General Arthur MacArthur, U.S.A., veteran of the Civil War, outstanding officer in the Philippines from 1898 to 1902, and father of General Douglas MacArthur. That last detail right there, that's the one that'll stop you in your tracks.
Now, the camp itself. Founded July 18, 1917, with one purpose: train the 32nd Division, National Guard, for the First World War. And here is where the numbers start doing something almost comical, if the stakes weren't so serious.
Camp MacArthur had a capacity of 45,074 men. At that same time, the entire city of Waco had a population of 32,000. Let that settle.
The camp could hold more souls than the whole town next door. First in were troops from Michigan and Wisconsin. Later came soldiers from Arkansas, Missouri, New Mexico, and Texas, filling up those grounds until the place was something closer to a small city of its own.
The 32nd Division shipped out to France in February of 1918. And Camp MacArthur didn't sit idle. It became an infantry replacement and training camp, and an officers training school, grinding through the work of war on the home side of the Atlantic.
Then came December of 1918. The fighting was over, and Camp MacArthur demobilized eleven thousand men. Eleven thousand men, stepping back out into a world that had changed, from a camp named for the father of a general the whole world would one day know.
What the marker says
Named for and dedicated by Lt. Gen Arthur MacArthur, U.S.A., veteran of Civil War, outstanding officer in Phillipines, 1898-1902, Father of Gen. Douglas MacArthur. Founded July 18, 1917, to train 32nd division, National Guard, in First World War. Capacity was 45,074--at time when Waco had a population of 32,000. First had troops from Michigan and Wisconsin; later, Arkansas, Missouri, New Mexico, Texas. The 32nd went to France in Feb. 1918. MacArthur became an infantry replacement and training camp and officers training school. Demobilized 11,000 in Dec. 1918.