HomeMy WebLinkAboutTexas in WWII, It's Been a Very Good YearTEXAS IN WORLD WAR II:
* * ~ IT'S BEEN A VERY GOOD YEAR ~ ~ ~
exas in World War II,
the Texas Historical
Commission's (THC)
multifaceted, multi-year
statewide initiative to
honor the crucial role our state played
in all aspects of the war, had a successful
first year. Generous donors from across
Texas helped the THC produce: a new
heritage tourism brochure, a celebration
at the State Capitol commemorating
the 60th anniversary of the end of
World War II, "Vignettes of Wartime
Texas" historical markers, "Here and
There: Recollections of Wartime Texas"
oral history training workshops,
"Texas in World War II -Online,"
and a special World War II edition of
The Medallion.
One final and critically important
component of the initiative, the Texas
in World War II Historic Sites Survey,
is yet to be funded. There is an urgent
need to identify and record signifi-
cant World War II-era military and
homefront sites and to capture
personal anecdotes related to those
sites. Vestiges of the war still remain on
the landscape today. Some are visible,
restored and interpreted, but others are
forgotten, endangered or demolished.
Working with local communities,
county historical commissions and
veterans' organizations, the historic sites
survey will identify and document
significant sites throughout the state as
a basis for future planning, preservation
and interpretation. Historians, educators
and the general public will have access
to collected information through the
THC web site and the Texas Historic
Sites Atlas.
Records compiled as part of this
project will result in the largest and most
comprehensive online, site-based resource
of information about World War II-era
Texas in existence. As such, it will serve
as the starting point for countless,
diverse projects in the future, from
scholarly publications and documentaries
to the development of school curricula
and site interpretation.
The Texas in World War II
Historic Sites Survey will enable THC
historians to leverage resources, gaining
a wealth of additional qualitative and
quantitative information, including
citizen-contributed data. Volumes of
new information will be added to the
Atlas, providing a richer portrait of life
in Texas when it was transformed
virtually overnight by the construction
of more than 175 major military instal-
lations and the infusion of hundreds of
thousands of military personnel.
"The historic sites survey is
one of the most important aspects
of Texas in World War II," said Larry
Oaks, THC executive director.
"America is losing 1,200 of its senior
veterans every day, along with their
knowledge of World War II-era sites
and events. Wartime memories and
landscapes are quickly receding into
the past, and it is incumbent upon the
Texans of today to capture and preserve
this rich history before many of the
sites -and those who can tell their
story -are gone."
For information about contributing
to the Texas in World War II program,
contact Toni Turner, THC development
officer, at 512/936-2241 or at friendsC~
thc. state. tx. us. ~t
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