CAMP HOWZE - Gainsville, Texas
Posted by: 
txoilgas
N 33° 40.873 W 097° 09.574
14S E 670603 N 3728331
Several hundred thousand men received their training here over the course of the war and the camp later became a Prisoner of War Camp for captured German soldiers.
Waymark Code: WM7GE0
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 10/23/2009
Views: 37
The land now is used for cattle grazing. Of the hundreds of buildings that were here there are a handfull remaining.
Established in 1942 as an Infantry-training camp, Camp Howze once covered 59,000 acres of Cooke County land that was acquired from local landowners shortly after Pearl Harbor.
It was named to honor Major Robert E. Lee Howze, who had won the Congressional Medal of Honor and had served during the Indian campaigns, the Philippine Insurrection following the Spanish-American War, and World War I.
The base was activated in August of 1942, and had a capacity of just under 40,000 men.
An estimated $20 million was spend on the camp during it’s construction and use, providing hundreds of jobs for Cooke County residents.
After the war, the camp, like most others, was deactivated. The buildings were sold as scrap and today only the cement foundations, chimneys and water towers remain.
In an interview with a former trainee, he recalled how demoralizing it was to see German prisoners playing soccer while his unit was enduring a forced march. “The war was over for them, but it hadn’t even started for us.”
Terrain: 
Parking: Not Listed
Recommended access: Not Listed
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Visit Instructions:
- At least one own photo of the place is required.