ROLL CALL - Friends of Camp Hearne

Our purpose is to achieve our preservation goals including: 1) surveys of historical and archeological sites, 2) preservation of the Camp's heritage through oral history, 3) public education about the Camp Hearne's history and the community Homefront contribution to the war effort, 4) organize interpretative displays of the Camp's layout and landscape, and 5) maintain a museum to store, preserve, interpret, and exhibit archeological artifacts from the site and/or relative wartime memorabilia.

Camp Hearne Historic Site is one of many WWII related locations in the United States. It is unique as the best remaining representation of America's brief history as keepers of part of a mass prisoner-of-war population on American soil. Sworn to strict guidelines of the Red Cross & Geneva Conventions, in contrast to the Axis' concentration/POW camps, the U.S. Army met its directive that POWs "must be humanely treated and protected at all time." Each American GI was instructed to follow "these provisions as a protection in the event of their own capture, and because violation of any of such provisions is not only a violation of the laws of the United States, but may also result in retaliation by the enemy against our own prisoners of war, and may subject this nation to unfavorable criticism in the public opinion of people throughout the world." (Field Manual 19-5 Military Police, pg 161)

Camp Hearne Historic Site tells the stories of our local population's Homefront support of the war so far way, yet in its own backyard. It also tells the stories of many young GIs serving their Country in the American Theater of War as guards, administrative clerks, medical/veterinary personnel, etc. And, it tells the stories of German prisoners-of-war -- some loyal to the Reich, others, not so much. But, all were unarmed, thousands of miles from the battles, and no longer shooting at our boys in uniform. They were treated well, but still imprisoned. We kept our end of the bargain and gained the respect of most of the 432,000+ POWs held in many US Prisoner Internment Camps.

Camp Hearne's Exhibit displays WWII memorabilia & photographs to help us tell its stories. It also displays a variety of artwork resulting from the prisoners' boredom. Their artistic talent was what one might expect among a community of 4000+ prisoners, but the results were treasured as memories of a time before war or chronicling their wartime travels. Each has a story to be told.

The exhibit also displays several artifacts from an archaeological survey conducted in 1995 that reveals a lot about the Camp, its "residents," and day-to-day life during 1942-1946. Beyond the artifacts, the survey discovered many remains of prisoner-built amenities such as foundations and theaters. Fortunately, because of the work of Dr. Michael Waters, we have many of the original U.S. Army plans for the camp which has allowed us to identify the remaining building foundations. Walking trails to these locations make the camp more real to the visitors. There are
not too many places in Texas where you can walk where German soldiers marched & played during WWII.

Testimonials

"Interesting place for WWII history buffs" Google Maps

"...I'm a WWII fan and was impressed with the information and exhibits." - Google Maps

January 2020, TripAdvisor - "Outstanding! My husband and I are so happy to discover this historical nugget! We had no idea there were over 66 POW camps during WWII just in the State of Texas! The lady that took us on the tour is absolutely fabulous! She was incredibly knowledgeable about the Camp. We highly recommend this stop for any history buff or anyone wanting to learn more about World War II."