Historic Walker County

imprisoned at the University of Santo Thomas.
After almost three years in captivity, she was
liberated on February 4, 1945, and flown to
Walter Reed Hospital. Shortly thereafter, she
met and married an Army chaplain, Colonel
John Borneman, who had also been a POW in
World War II. 89
On the home front during the war, Walker
County residents did all they could to support
the effort. Local citizens rationed gasoline,
bought war bonds, planted victory gardens, and
longed for a time when their loved ones would
return home. In one instance, however, Walker
County proved quite distinctive. In 1942 the
Provost Marshall General’s Office ordered the
construction of Camp Huntsville, the first
prisoner of war camp to be built in the United
States during World War II. By the end of 1943,
the camp housed 4,840 POWs, and a robust reeducation
program was soon created to teach
German and Japanese soldiers the finer points
of American democracy.
In August 1945, the residents of Walker
County celebrated the news that the war was
finally over. Twenty-thousand Texans, many of
them from the eastern half of the state, died
during the war. Nevertheless, few people ever
questioned the role that America had played in
the conflict. The nation had been attacked by
imperial and fascist forces from abroad, and
Walker County’s residents were proud that they
had done their part to halt the Japanese Empire
and Nazi Germany. 90
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Above: “Let’s Go!” recruiting poster
designed by John W. Thomason, Jr.
COURTESY OF THE SAM HOUSTON STATE
UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES.
Right: Camp Huntsville, the first
World War II prisoner of war camp
in Texas.
COURTESY OF THE SAM HOUSTON STATE
UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES.
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