DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Camp San Augustine. Now settle in, because this one's got layers. During World War II, the U.S. military didn't just send Texans overseas.
It also brought the war, or at least some of its consequences, right back to the piney woods of East Texas. Here's how it worked. Communities across East Texas went to the federal government with a request: send us a prisoner of war camp.
Why? Two reasons. They wanted federal economic investment coming into their towns, and they had a labor shortage they needed filled.
San Augustine answered the call. The camp that took shape there was a branch of Camp Fannin, up in Smith County, and it was completed in March of 1944. Now think about that for a second.
The spring of 1944, the war still very much alive, and a POW camp just finished and waiting. The first prisoners arrived in April of 1944, and these weren't just any prisoners. These were members of Germany's Afrika Korps.
Men who had fought in some of the most grueling campaigns the war produced, now finding themselves put to work on forestry projects deep in East Texas timber country. At its peak, the camp held three hundred and thirty-one prisoners. But here's where the story of Camp San Augustine takes on a certain distinction.
When the war wound down and the other branch camps in East Texas began to close, they didn't just lock the gates and send everyone home. They sent their prisoners to Camp San Augustine first. Then on to Camp Fannin, and eventually repatriation back to Europe.
Camp San Augustine stayed open longer than any other branch camp in East Texas, finally closing in April of 1946. Long after the shooting stopped, this patch of San Augustine County was still doing the quiet, unglamorous work of finishing the war. This marker is part of the Texas in World War II program, placed in 2009.
What the marker says
During World War II, the U.S. military established multiple Prisoners of War (POW) Branch Camps at the request of East Texas communities seeking to boost federal economic investment and address local labor shortages. San Augustine, a branch of Camp Fannin (Smith Co.) was completed in March 1944. The first POWs, part of Germany's Afrika Korps, arrived here in April 1944, with a peak population of 331. POWs worked primarily on forestry projects. The camp remained open longer than any other branch camp in East Texas. After the war, several area branch camps closed and sent their POWs here, and later Camp Fannin, before repatriation to Europe. Camp San Augustine closed in April 1946. Texas in World War II - 2009