Camp Bowie

Camp Bowie. . , The original Camp Bowie was a World War I training camp near Fort Worth, Texas. On September 19, 1940, the U.S. War Department authorized construction of a new "Camp Bowie" near Brownwood. On September 27, 1940 work began on the site. The first major defense project in Texas during the World War II era, more than 15,000 workers were employed on this project. The 36th Infantry Division of the Texas Army National Guard received orders to mobilize at Camp Bowie on November 25, 1940. They trained at Camp Bowie, Camp Blanding - Florida, and Camp Edwards - Massachusetts before leading the assault on Salerno on September 9, 1943. Eventually, men from all states would join the fighting 36th Infantry Division Texas Division. The division served more days in combat than any other division in World War II. By October, 1942, Camp Bowie had grown to 123,000 acres with 5,000 acres for camp and 118,000 acres for training. At the time, Camp Bowie was the largest military training area in the U.S. 8 divisions and numerous other regiments and companies trained at Camp Bowie. There were never fewer than 30,000 men in Camp Bowie with a peak of 60,000 men. More than 250,000 soldiers passed through Camp Bowie. In August, 1943, Camp Bowie received German POW's, many from Field Marshal Erwin Rommel's Afrika Corps. Camp Bowie was decommissioned in August 1946 and was developed as the Camp Bowie Industrial Park today. 10,000 acres of the original camp are used to train members of the Texas Army National Guard, Texas State Guard and other military forces.