Interviews with People Who Remember Camp Swift

Comments by Soldiers Stationed at the Camp

Memories from a Civilian Worker at the Camp

A Letter from Former President Johnson about the Camp

Comments from Austin Resident Cole Murphy

"I was a 21-year-old infantry platoon leader with the 10th Mountain Division during the war. I trained at Camp Swift for two months before going to Europe, where my division helped liberate Italy."

"I had responsibility for commanding a platoon of 40 men and two mules. Most of all my memories of Camp Swift are detail memories -- platoon training and so forth, and trying the manage the mules when we were out in the field." (Because the 10th Mountain Division was created for combat in mountain terrain, it relied on mules to carry the equipment.)

"We were the only division I know of that was fully outfield with horses and mules. We didn't have any vehicles at that time. In the mountains, there are no roads."

Memories from Sam Thomas

"I was one of the younger soldiers (at age 19) when I entered Camp Swift as a member of the 10th Mountain Division in 1944. Coming from Arkansas, I had never seen more than two inches of snow. But I went from Camp Swift to Italy in six weeks as a skier trained for mountain combat."

"What I remember most about the post isn't mountain training, but something a little more mundane for soldiers. This was the first and only area I was ever in where it was easy to dig foxholes, due to all the sand."

An Interview with Mrs. Mattie Denson

"I was working on Main Street when Camp Swift began to be built. I don't know how long it took them to build it, but I was working all that time at Elkin's and you could see from week to week more people. Then, I don't remember what year it was, I worked out there as manager of the store or commissary. I worked there, at commissary number three, for over a year and then came back into town and worked in the grocery store. When Camp Swift first came in, it was just like an army coming into a town of a thousand people. It just got bigger and bigger, and every afternoon they'd come in bus loads and just walk the streets. At night, they'd come in your yard and lie on the porch and around the house."

"The commissary that I worked had mostly beer and cold drinks and toilet goods and things like that. Some other commissaries had food, but I didn't have any in mine. And they'd come in and drink beer, pour it over ice cream, and at ten o'clock I'd close up. Then I had to walk half a mile, three quarters of a mile, to the gate to catch the bus to come home. I had a sergeant that walked with me; he's the one that was around the commissary at all times. I watched them train everyday...hundreds of boys training out there regardless of how hot it was or how cold it was."

"When the camp closed, they just started shipping them out every week and kept on and on until there were just a few left. And then I don't know what they did with those in the prison camp. They had some out there in the prison. Then, all of a sudden, there wasn't anything left.

A Letter from Former President Lyndon Johnson

My Dear Friends:
I want to thank you for your message about the reactivation of Camp Swift. It was a pleasure to hear from you and to know of your interest in the camp.

I remember very well the real contribution that this installation made to the defense effort during World War II. Army officials also recognize this camp and appreciate its potential for the future. Like other army facilities, Camp Swift is being considered in the light of present roads and is under constant consideration. If the national interest requires it, I am confident that serious thought will be given to re-opening this base.

While I have no direct authority over these decisions, I am anxious to assist in every way possible. I will be happy to make your views known to the proper officials. Meanwhile, you will probably want to talk with the commander of the Fourth army at Fort Sam Houston, who is primarily responsible for the matters of this kind.

Quotes from local Bastropians

• Oren Eskew - "At one time we had 12 construction workers renting out two extra bedroom, living room, and dining room."

• Billy Maynard had "an Army dentist, his wife, and one child renting his extra bedroom and bath."

• Cruz Galvan's father "rented out the entire upper floor of their home to soldiers stationed at the base".

• Cecil Long "converted his farm house into four apartments." He "had one man rent his hog shed that had a cement floor and convert it into living quarters."

• Pete Cervantes - "before the construction started, downtown Bastrop was virtually abandoned after 5 p.m. After the military trainees arrived the streets would still be packed with people and soldiers until nine and ten o'clock".

• A.J. "Tony" Shimek, local Texaco service station owner, was unable to "find housing in Bastrop and had to commute to and from Smithville."

  
  

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