Calhoun County Participation During World War II
Port Lavaca, Calhoun County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Before World War II, Calhoun County was primarily involved in farming, ranching and commercial seafood but after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the county became a major participant in the war effort. In November 1940, much of the county's shoreline had been condemned for military purposes. The federal government took over Matagorda Island and property owners were instructed to pack up all belongings and leave. The seriousness of the situation was realized on June 26, 1942 when Mexican cargo ships were sunk by German u-boats within sight of Port O' Connor. The military established a protective watch area and residents patrolled beaches. One night a patrol discovered Germans coming ashore on Matagorda Peninsula and took them prisoner. The army installed a surveillance system between October 1940 and January 1941 in Port O' Connor, Port Lavaca and Olivia. Citizens were trained to identify and report airplanes within view. The Port Lavaca tower observed a man using a fishing pole to put up an antenna; he was transmitting information to German u-boats in the Gulf of Mexico. Turtle and Matagorda Bay provided shoreline for the division of artillery to practice and train. The United States Army selected nearby Camp Hulen as the base for anti-aircraft artillery training. Camp Indianola served as an anti-aircraft target practice area that used remote control drones called radio aircraft target service for practice. In 1943, the Matagorda Island Gunnery Range was built that supported training for the island bombing range. Citizens of Calhoun County became a major party to the national war effort to train soldiers for overseas deployment. (2012)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Before World War II, Calhoun County lived by farming, ranching, and seafood — but after Pearl Harbor the Gulf Coast became a front line. The government condemned much of the shoreline, cleared Matagorda Island, and residents patrolled beaches after German U-boats sank Mexican cargo ships within sight of Port O'Connor. Camp Hulen trained anti-aircraft artillery, gunnery ranges rose on the barrier islands, and citizens spotted aircraft and even caught a man signaling submarines with a fishing-pole antenna.
Why it matters
The county's transformation shows how deeply World War II reached into everyday American life, turning quiet coastal communities into training grounds and watchposts against a war that came surprisingly close to home.
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Related events
- · Attack on Pearl Harbor
- · Camp Hulen
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
201st Fighter Squadron, Mexican Expeditionary Air Force (The Aztec Eagles)
Victoria, TX
After German U-boats sank its oil tankers, Mexico declared war on the Axis in 1942 and negotiated to train a fighter squadron in Texas. The 201st Fighter Squadron of the Mexican Expeditionary Air Force—the "Aztec Eagles"—brought 300 volunteers to Foster Field near Victoria in 1944 before deploying to the Philippines in 1945. Flying with the U.S. Fifth Air Force, the unit carried out 96 combat missions against Japanese forces.
Site of Camp Hulen
Palacios, TX
Begun in 1925 as a summer training ground for the Texas National Guard on land donated by Palacios citizens, this bayside camp grew into one of the U.S. military's largest field-training sites after it was renamed for Major John A. Hulen in 1930. During World War II the War Department expanded it for anti-aircraft training and quarters for 12,000 personnel, and from 1943 to 1945 it held German prisoners of war. Returned to the Guard in 1946, it was gradually dismantled and the land sold off by the mid-1960s.
Foster Army Air Field
Victoria, TX
As the United States raced to build an air force before entering World War II, Victoria secured an advanced aerial gunnery training field, opened in 1941 and named for a young instructor killed in a 1925 crash. Cadets trained here throughout the war, firing over ranges on the Matagorda coast, and the base even hosted the Aztec Eagles — Mexico's 201st Fighter Squadron — as Allied fliers trained side by side. Closed at war's end, it was reactivated for jet training during the Korean War, became a permanent Air Force base, and finally passed into civilian hands as Victoria's regional airport.
Cates-Price House
Palacios, TX
John T. and Opal Cates Price arrived in Palacios in 1906 and, joined by Opal's parents, had architect Winn Wood design companion homes on adjoining lots by 1910. Unusual among Craftsman bungalows for its side-gabled roof and dormered second story with veranda, the house was a local showplace that once hosted former Texas Governor Pat Neff. During World War II it served as the unofficial officers' club for nearby Camp Hulen.