By Cecily Fergeson
On June 6, 1944, the Allies stormed the beaches of Normandy, France, in a massive invasion called D-Day, setting the scene for the end of World War II. The global conflict touched the lives of Texans at home and abroad. At the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC), a wide variety of resources are available for visitors to explore the personal stories of Texans who lived through World War II. TSLAC collections include war memoirs, filmed interviews, books about Texas women in wartime, Allied training on Texas soil, and more. Personal connections may be closer than you think!
If you’ve just developed an interest in the stories of Texans during WWII, TSLAC has several options for you to explore before diving deeper. Texas and Texans in World War II 1941-1945, edited by Christopher B. Bean, handily covers what its title suggests and could be a good place to start. Published by Texas A&M University Press in 2022, this book provides a broad array of subjects for further consideration. Each chapter is written by a different scholar and offers a different lens on the Texan World War II experience, such as women serving in the military, civilian women, the Black community, Tejanos, prisoners of war, and more. The book also covers the war’s impact on a variety of Texan industries such as oil and agriculture and their workers, including the Texas organized labor movement during the conflict. Readers may then search TSLAC collections for works on one or more of these topics and find titles like Cindy Weigand’s Texas Women in World War II (Republic of Texas Press, 2003).
IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Those looking for stories of Texans serving in military and combat roles on the European front will also find plenty to satisfy their curiosity at TSLAC, including interviews filmed with veterans, publicly available through our Texas Digital Archive.
In Recollections of Texas T-Patchers (WWII 36th Infantry Division), each film lasting 45-60 minutes, Texas T-Patchers Virgil Duffy, Roy Goad, and Bennet Palmer describe their early lives, how they found their way into military service, and their firsthand experiences of the European front. The 36th Infantry Division was a unit first formed during World War I and was called to active duty again in November 1940 at Camp Bowie, Texas. After sailing to North Africa in 1943, the T-Patchers were called to fight through Italy to Rome, and then, in 1944, to land on the beaches of France. Duffy, Goad, and Palmer’s eyewitness accounts of the European front of WWII represent an increasingly scarce resource, especially for those looking for firsthand Texan stories of that moment and place in history.
TSLAC is also home to published accounts of Texans who served in the War in the Pacific. One such narrative is From Texas to Tinian and Tokyo Bay: The Memoirs of Captain J. R. Ritter, Seabee Commander during the Pacific War, 1942-1945 (University of North Texas Press, 2019), compiled from the writings of a U.S. Navy “Seabee,” by his grandson Jonathan Templin Ritter.
The Seabees were a unit nicknamed for the first letters of its official name, the Construction Brigade. The unit’s main focus was construction, but its men were still trained to carry and use weapons as necessary—a unique breed whose unofficial motto was: “The difficult, we do now, the impossible takes a little longer.” In From Texas to Tinian and Tokyo Bay, Captain Ritter describes his life as a Seabee commander through surviving Japanese air raids, clean-up after fierce island battles, and organizing troop entertainment through the USO.
ON THE HOMEFRONT
Not to be outdone in international relations by those serving overseas, Texans were also “doing their bit” for the war at home by, among other efforts, helping the British Royal Air Force to train its pilots. Tom Killebrew’s The Royal Air Force in Texas: Training British Pilots in Terrell during World War II (University of North Texas Press, 2009) shines a light on this special moment in Allied cooperation.
Plans for the British Flying Training Schools (BFTS) in America began to coalesce in 1940, even before the US officially entered the conflict. The United States had several things Britain desperately needed to train more Royal Air Force Pilots: the physical space needed for training necessities like airfields, hangars, and runways; the relative safety of uncontested airspace; and, the ability to train pilots in night-flying over a country whose lights did not all need to be out to ensure safety from the Luftwaffe, which was the case in Britain. Terrell, Texas, with its wide-open spaces and clear, sunny skies, was the perfect place for a BFTS to open in 1941. Details covered in this publication include descriptions of training aircraft and flight maneuvers as well as entertaining servicemember accounts of contrasts and similarities between British and American military training, organization, and culture.
Anyone curious about the role of Texans in World War II may find something of interest at TSLAC. In addition to the publications and online interviews mentioned here, there are also photographs and documents in the State Archives. Our reference team is available by phone, email, and in person to assist with your questions about resources on this topic.
For questions about TSLAC collections, please contact reference staff at 512-463-5455 or ref@tsl.texas.gov.
