Second Armored Division, U. S. Army
Killeen, Bell County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Gen. Patton's "Hell on Wheels," the 2nd Armored Division, United States Army Formed to meet 20th century challenges, this force includes Battery A, 1st Battalion, 3rd Field Artillery, which has been in service since 1778. That battery and other veteran units have found new capabilities in this age of mechanized combat involving lightning mobility and massive firepower. In 1940, as German panzers overran France, the United States Congress created the 1st and 2nd American Armored Divisions. The 2nd was organized July 15, 1940, at Fort Benning, Ga., by Gen. Charles L. Scott, and received its "Hell on Wheels" name in 1941 from Gen. George S. Patton, Jr. First U.S. armored force in combat in World War II, "Hell on Wheels" landed in North Africa on Nov. 8, 1942. It won great victories at Safi and Casablanca, in the assault on Sicily, the 1944 Normandy invasion, the Battle of the Bulge, and other campaigns. Along 11,702 miles of combat advance, the 2nd won 7 French Croix de Guerres, 19 Distinguished Unit citations, and was first foreign division ever given the Fourragere of Belgium. The 2nd provided Honor Guard for President Harry S. Truman at the Potsdam peace conference. Since 1945 Fort Hood has been 2nd's permanent base. (1975)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized at Fort Benning in July 1940 as German panzers overran France, the 2nd Armored Division earned the name 'Hell on Wheels' from General George S. Patton Jr. in 1941. As the first U.S. armored force in combat, it fought from the 1942 North Africa landings through Sicily, Normandy, and the Battle of the Bulge, and provided the honor guard for President Truman at Potsdam. Fort Hood has been its permanent home since 1945.
Why it matters
'Hell on Wheels' helped pioneer mechanized warfare and carried American armor across the pivotal campaigns that won World War II in Europe.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Gen. George S. Patton Jr.
- · Gen. Charles L. Scott
- · Harry S. Truman
Related events
- · Normandy Invasion
- · Battle of the Bulge
- · Potsdam Conference
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Lt. Gen. Andrew Davis Bruce
Killeen, TX
Born in St. Louis in 1894 and a 1916 graduate of Texas A&M, Andrew Davis Bruce began 37 years of military service in 1917, rising to lieutenant colonel at age 24 in France during World War I. Asked to create the Army's tank destroyer center, he chose Killeen in 1942 for its terrain and climate and named the camp for Confederate general John Bell Hood, giving rise to Fort Hood. In World War II he led the 77th Infantry Division through Guam, Leyte, Ie Shima, and Okinawa, earning two Distinguished Service Crosses, before a later career as president and chancellor of the University of Houston.
Oveta Culp Hobby and the Women's Army Corps
Killeen, TX
Born in Killeen in 1905, Oveta Culp Hobby honed her skills as a legislative parliamentarian and newspaper reporter before marrying former governor William P. Hobby. In May 1942 she was appointed to direct the new Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, and under her leadership the organization became the Women's Army Corps, with more than 99,000 members serving in every theater of the war. She later became the first U.S. Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare under President Eisenhower.
Santa Fe Depot
Killeen, TX
Killeen was born in 1882 as a shipping point on the Gulf, Colorado, and Santa Fe Railroad, taking its name from railway official Frank P. Killeen. After fire destroyed the first depot, Santa Fe crews raised this building from standard plans in 1913. That rail connection later proved decisive: it helped persuade the U.S. Army to establish Camp Hood — later Fort Hood — nearby during World War II, transforming the quiet farm town.
Fort Hood Communities
Gatesville, TX
On January 15, 1942, the U.S. Army established a tank destroyer training center near Killeen that became Camp Hood, later Fort Hood. To train tens of thousands of soldiers for World War II combat, the government acquired more than 88,000 acres, taking in about twenty small Coryell County communities settled since the 1850s. Within days and weeks families watched homes and churches vanish and moved beloved dead to new cemeteries, enduring a hard recovery even as they banded together into a lasting community of memory.