Camp Barkeley was a large

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

training installation during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. The base was located southwest of

Abilene, Texas Abilene ( ) is a city in Taylor and Jones Counties in Texas, United States. Its population was 125,182 at the 2020 census, making it the 27th-most populous city in the state of Texas. It is the principal city of the Abilene metropolitan statis ...

near what is now

Dyess Air Force Base Dyess Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force (USAF) base located about southwest of downtown Abilene, Texas, and west of Fort Worth, Texas. The host unit at Dyess is the 7th Bomb Wing assigned to the Global Strike Command Ei ...

. The base was named after David B. Barkley, a

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...

recipient during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

(a clerical error is believed to have caused the spelling discrepancy). The camp was in size and had a population of 50,000 at its peak of operation."Camp Barkeley" ''The Handbook of Texas Online''
Retrieved Aug 30, 2009 Construction of the camp began in December 1940 and was completed in July 1941. Before it was finished, the 19,000 man 45th Infantry Division began to occupy the camp. Other units that trained at the camp include the 11th Armored Division, and the

12th Armored Division The 12th Armored Division was an armored division of the United States Army in World War II. It fought in the European Theater of Operations in France, Germany and Austria, between November 1944 and May 1945. The German Army called the 12th A ...

. The Medical Administrative

Officer Candidate School An officer candidate school (OCS) is a military school which trains civilians and Enlisted rank, enlisted personnel in order for them to gain a Commission (document), commission as Commissioned officer, officers in the armed forces of a country. ...

was established at Barkeley in May 1942. In 1942, the Abilene Army Air Field opened nearby to train pilots. The field was renamed Dyess Air Force Base in 1956. On February 1, 1944, the 1846th Unit POW Camp was activated at Camp Barkeley. At its peak, in March 1945, the POW camp housed 840

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

prisoners. According to Krammer, "the few escape attempts invariably found the German prisoners sleeping in the bandstand in Abilene's central park." Camp Barkeley was officially closed in September 1945 and dismantled. The land, which was leased, reverted to the original landowners.

References

{{coord missing, Texas Closed installations of the United States Army Forts in Texas Military facilities in Texas Buildings and structures in Taylor County, Texas Infrastructure completed in 1941 1941 establishments in Texas 1945 disestablishments in Texas

See also

References