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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The 75th anniversary of the commissioning of Camp |
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| 6 | 7 | | Bowie, the World War II training facility in Brownwood, is being |
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| 7 | 8 | | celebrated with a symposium and other events on the campus of Howard |
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| 8 | 9 | | Payne University from September 16 to 18, 2015; and |
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| 9 | 10 | | WHEREAS, The original Camp Bowie, a World War I training |
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| 10 | 11 | | camp, was situated near Fort Worth, but on September 19, 1940, the |
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| 11 | 12 | | U.S. War Department authorized the construction of a new training |
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| 12 | 13 | | ground near Brownwood, and on September 27, 1940, work began on the |
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| 13 | 14 | | site, the first major defense project in Texas during the World War |
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| 14 | 15 | | II era; at one time, more than 15,000 laborers were working on the |
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| 15 | 16 | | project; and |
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| 16 | 17 | | WHEREAS, In late 1940, the 36th Infantry Division of the |
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| 17 | 18 | | Texas Army National Guard, also known as the Texas Division, was |
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| 18 | 19 | | mobilized, and during 1941 and 1942, its members trained at the new |
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| 19 | 20 | | camp in Brownwood before transferring to Florida and Massachusetts, |
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| 20 | 21 | | where they shipped out to join the war in Europe; they took part in |
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| 21 | 22 | | the landing at Salerno, Italy, in 1943, joining the first Allied |
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| 22 | 23 | | troops to invade Hitler's Europe, and over the course of the war, |
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| 23 | 24 | | the division suffered nearly 20,000 casualties, including 3,717 men |
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| 24 | 25 | | killed in action, 12,685 wounded, and 3,064 missing in action; and |
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| 25 | 26 | | WHEREAS, By October 1942, Camp Bowie in Brownwood had grown |
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| 26 | 27 | | to 123,000 acres in Brown and Mills Counties, with a 5,000-acre |
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| 27 | 28 | | campsite and another 118,000 acres used for training exercises; |
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| 28 | 29 | | eight divisions trained at the camp, and many other battalions, |
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| 29 | 30 | | regiments, and companies passed through to use the training |
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| 30 | 31 | | grounds; there were never fewer than 30,000 men in the camp at any |
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| 31 | 32 | | one time, and at one point, its population was 60,000; more than a |
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| 32 | 33 | | quarter of a million soldiers passed through Camp Bowie between |
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| 33 | 34 | | 1941 and the end of the war; and |
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| 34 | 35 | | WHEREAS, In August 1943, the camp began to house German |
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| 35 | 36 | | prisoners of war, many of them veterans of Field Marshal Erwin |
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| 36 | 37 | | Rommel's famed Afrika Corps; these men performed tasks at the camp |
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| 37 | 38 | | and also worked as day laborers for local ranchers and farmers; and |
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| 38 | 39 | | WHEREAS, Camp Bowie was decommissioned in August 1946, and in |
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| 39 | 40 | | the years since, much of the land has been developed as Camp Bowie |
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| 40 | 41 | | Industrial Park; the camp's chapels were moved to Eastland and |
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| 41 | 42 | | Stephenville, and many of its other buildings were transferred to |
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| 42 | 43 | | Brownwood; a small portion of the original camp is still used to |
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| 43 | 44 | | train members of the Texas State Guard and other Texas military |
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| 44 | 45 | | forces each year; and |
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| 45 | 46 | | WHEREAS, Sponsored by Tarleton State University, Howard |
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| 46 | 47 | | Payne University, and the Brown County Museum of History, the |
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| 47 | 48 | | anniversary symposium will feature presentations by academics, |
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| 48 | 49 | | military scholars, and researchers, as well as the debut of a new |
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| 49 | 50 | | exhibit that explores the history of the camp, the men who trained |
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| 50 | 51 | | there, and the region's contributions to the war effort; and |
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| 51 | 52 | | WHEREAS, During a time of worldwide conflict, Camp Bowie in |
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| 52 | 53 | | Brownwood became an important training center for thousands of |
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| 53 | 54 | | American military personnel, playing a vital role in the defense of |
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| 54 | 55 | | our nation's security and the preservation of freedom; now, |
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| 55 | 56 | | therefore, be it |
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| 56 | 57 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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| 57 | 58 | | Legislature hereby commemorate the 75th anniversary of the |
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| 58 | 59 | | establishment of Camp Bowie in Brownwood. |
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