A History of Camp Wallace

Download or read book A History of Camp Wallace written by Robert Bear and published by . This book was released on 2021-08-15 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: World War II began on September 1, 1939, and ended on September 2, 1945. The National Government announced in 1940 that it would construct a significant military establishment in Galveston County. Camp Wallace officially opened on February 1, 1941. The initial mission was as a U.S. Army Coastal Artillery Replacement Training Center (C.A.R.T.C.), giving selectees 13 weeks of basic training and then sending them out into the field to study a specialized type of army work. The purpose soon changed to an Anti-Aircraft Replacement Center at the end of 1941. It was re-structured for defense against enemy aircraft instead of defense of our coastline when bombardment by offshore naval vessels was no longer deemed a priority. In 1943 it housed its' first German Prisoners of War (P.O.W.'s). In 1944, the Army base was turned over to Naval supervision to use as a Naval Training & Distribution Center. When WWII was over, the base was then used as a Naval Separation Center from 1945 to 1946 to release veterans back into civilian life.