Author: Lisa Sharik

Finding Clues in Old Photographs

People often do not realize how much information you can find in an old photograph. As you research your relative’s service keep this in mind.

The image above is of seated soldiers from WWII. On the front it nicely gives us a date of 9-1-43. When you look closer at the picture you see all the soldiers have patches for the Texas Defense Guard (TDG) this was a home guard ( which later became the Texas State Guard), and was comprised of men who were too old, too young for service, or for some other reason could not serve in the regular Armed Forces.
 

Looking closing at their collars and hats we see they are all wearing Marine Corps insignia (USMC). In addition behind the soldiers are 2 Marine Corps recruiting posters, which research reveals were produced in 1942/43. So this is a TDG “Marine” unit. During WWII the Defense Guard Marine unit was based in Houston, Texas.

 

Looking more closely at the individual soldiers we see that the 1st, 4th and 5th soldier from the left all have WWI victory ribbons on their uniform. The 1st soldier has a WWI victory medal with 2 bronze campaign stars and a number “2” during WWI there would have been campaign “bars” so this soldier has added WWII campaign stars to his WWI ribbon.

 
The second soldier from the left has on a cartridge belt with magazine pouch, all the other soldiers have standard belts.
 
The soldier in the center of the back row has a Medic/Red Cross patch on his lower left sleeve.
 
Many of the soldiers have visible rank patches ( mostly some grade of Sergeants)The soldier in the center front has a Lieutenant bar.
 
An finally not as useful but interesting on the side of the photograph are two motor oil cans “Conoco Motor Oil” and “Keystone”.
 

Someone did type information on the back of the photograph showing it was the 48th Bn, Marine unit from Houston with names. It must have been typed in late 1943 or after as they used the term “Texas State Guard” instead of “Texas Defense Guard”

 

So the next time you look at those old photographs get out the magnifying glass and take a real look- those small clues just might help you out in your search.

Texas and the Great War

On April 2, 1917 President Wilson asked Congress for a declaration of war against Germany and on April 6, 1917 war was declared. This week we will be highlighting aspects of the Texas Military Forces in the “Great War” as we begin this Centennial year. Check back daily as we add further details to this blog post.

Tuesday:

In February 1917 Maj. Gen. Frederick Funston, commanding general of the Southern District, died in San Antonio, and facilities at the Leon Springs Reservation were named Camp Funston in his honor. Another camp in Kansas was also named Funston, and since Funston was a native of Kansas, the Leon Springs Camp was redesignated Camp Stanley, after Brig. Gen. David S. Stanley, former commander of the Department of Texas. On May 8, 1917, the First Officers Training Camp was established just north of Anderson Hill at Camp Funston. The purpose of the FOTC was to provide in ninety days most of the junior officers for newly formed divisions. The trainees became known as “ninety-day wonders.” In the spring of 1917 a remount station was established at Leon Springs to process and maintain horses used by the mounted arms of the military services. From the TSHA Handbook of Texas History

Pictures of our Texas National Guard soldiers at Leon Springs in the Spring of 1917


Monday

World War I was a turning point for the United States, and for Texas. Even before the United States declared war on Germany on April 6, 1917, Texas was mobilized and already significantly engaged in war preparations and supplying the Allies. San Antonio was already touted as Military City USA . The Texas National Guard had been called out for the Punitive Expedition to pursue Pancho Villa in 1916-17. Texas businesses supplied oil, cattle, horses, cotton, and lumber to Europe. Many Texans had volunteered to come to the aid of the Allies (and some German Texans to the Axis) between 1914 and 1917. The British Royal Flying Corps had even operated three flying schools to train Canadian pilots at Camp Taliaferro in Fort Worth.
The earliest unit of the Texas National Guard which was mobilized for WWI was the 117th Supply Train which was attached to the 42nd Rainbow Division. This picture is of Corporal Walter Tips who served with the unit. His family were well known Austinites and the Tips building downtown is named for his grandfather.


Don’t forget to come by our first Mabry Mixer this Wednesday and learn more about America’s entry into WWI.

Cataloging Stories

We haven’t done a blog post in awhile and today while cataloging documents and artifacts from the WWI collection of Sgt. Levi Cox we came across an interesting story.

Sgt. Cox served with Company H, 142nd Infantry Regiment during the “Great War”, which later became known as WWI. Among the items from Sgt. Cox was a ship’s paper  from his journey home in May 1919 aboard the USS Pueblo.  This small booklet was given out to the soldiers on May 25, 1919. It includes the church schedule,  small inspirational paragraphs and the following story:


These two soldiers from the 142nd Infantry Regiment who had survived training, the flu epidemic, combat, and 8 months of occupation had perished on their way home. In searching through our WWI service cards there were a couple of interesting parallels between the soldiers:

  • both men were older, 32 for Hovey and 30 for Strong
  • both men had no immediate next of kin listed. Hovey had a friend and Strong had his brother-in-law

Harry Hovey had been born in Brownsville and was living in Mansfield in Tarrant County when he was drafted. Joseph Strong was born in Paris, Tx and was living in Brice in Hall County when he enlisted.

Levi Cox survived the war and kept letters written to his future wife and a small number of other souvenirs to remember his time spent in the “Great War”, a gas mask ( he was gassed during the war, his jacket, his discharge papers,his identification card, a pass to Paris to see the 36th Division play in the football final, and a souvenir map. That he saved this particular ships booklet which mentions the death of a likely friend ( Pvt. Strong who was in the same Company) indicates that the war, and the death of his comrades had impacted his life.

The T-Patch on his jacket is very interesting and likely made by an older French woman he was housed with during the occupation.

Levi Cox during training:

This is just one of many thousands of stories of Texas soldiers who served their county during WWI. As we approach the Centennial of the US involvement in the Great War we hope to bring you more of anecdotes.

Volunteers Needed

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Looking to volunteer? Are you interested in Texas history or military history? Like talking with people? Do you have at least 4 hours a week of time to donate? Then the Texas Military Forces Museum is for you.

The Museum is looking for docents who can work at our front desk greeting visitors. We need people who can work one day a week ( Tuesday through Friday) anytime between 9:30 am to 4 pm. There is no previous experience required. Please contact the museum at [email protected] or 512- 782-5559 for more information.

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Camp Mabry Open House/Muster Day

THE TEXAS MILITARY DEPARTMENT AND THE GARRISON COMMAND HAVE CHOSEN TO CANCEL CAMP MABRY OPEN HOUSE/MUSTER DAY 

Muster Day traces it’s roots back to when Texas was still a republic. In the early days, on an annual basis, the troops were ‘mustered’ or called to report.  Over the years, the mustering of the troops became obsolete. However, the Texas Military Forces Museum as part of the Texas Military Forces  yearly Open House at Camp Mabry, holds a Muster Day where reenactors of all periods from the Texas Revolution  through current times can display their historical uniforms, weapons and equipment and show them to the general public. There is a large WWII battle reenactment each day. These battles feature  200 Allied and German soldiers recreating a WWII battle using original equipment, tanks, and weapons from the time period. The museum will be open Saturday from 8 am to 5 pm and Sunday from 8 am to 5 pm.

Check back for a complete schedule in March

Gates open at 8 am each day. As well as the museum events, there will be displays by the Texas Military Forces, helicopter demos, First Responders, children’s activities, Vietnam Wall Memorial, and much, much more.

Holiday Hours

The museum will be closed on Christmas Day but open regular hours the rest of the holiday season. This includes being open on Christmas Eve, New Year’s Eve and New Years Day.

We will also be OPEN on Monday December 27th from 10-4.

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Close Assault 1944

 

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Remember the true meaning of Veteran’s Day with this stirring look back at World War II. Close Assault 1944 honors the service and sacrifice of America’s veterans by focusing on the history of the 36th Infantry Division of the Texas Army National Guard during World War II. The free program features members of the Texas Military Forces Living History Detachment exhibiting the uniform and equipment worn by the American GI in the European Theater of the Second World War, as well as those of his German opponent. In addition, the two-day event will provide guests the opportunity to witness firing demonstrations of the most famous U.S. and German small arms of World War II, as well as see everything from tents and radio equipment to GI baseball gloves and mess kits and operational vehicles such as an M4 Sherman Tank, M3 Halftrack and Jeeps.

 

The event will take place rain or shine and bleachers will be available for seating.  Show times are at 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday at 1:00 pm. The Texas Military Forces Museum will be open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the weekend. Both the program and admission to the museum are free.

 

Camp Mabry is open to the public and adults will need to show a valid photo ID such as a driver’s license or a military ID to come on post.

Hands on History

Come see and handle some of the most famous weapons in military history. The Texas Military Forces Museum will be opening it’s gun vault up for one night- July 3 2021 from 6pm to 9 pm.

Climb inside a M4A3 Sherman tank, a German Hetzer, WWII and post war era jeeps, a Kiowa and Raven helicopter, US and German halftracks and M113 and more.

Weapons from the Civil War through the War on Terror will be available to touch and pick up. Including all the standard infantry weapons and anti tank weapons: items like the M1863 Springfield, Krag-Jorgenson, Japanese type 99, BAR, German MP 40, Russian AK-47’s,M1-D sniper rifle, and many, many more. Uniformed reenactors will also be available to discuss the history of each weapon.

The event will be FREE this year, however if you want to get in early, and skip the longer lines Early Bird admission between 5-6 pm is just $5 for anyone over 14, and $1 for those 5-13

Some equipment like the Sherman Tank and F84 require you to climb up a ladder and be able to fit inside.

It will likely be very hot this year, please dress for the weather. You are welcome to bring bottled water. Some things like the Sherman Tank and F84 require you to climb up a ladder and be able to fit inside.

For more information 512-782-5394