We the People: Tyler’s Camp Fannin trained thousands of World War II soldiers

TYLER, Texas (KLTV) - As America’s home front responded to the Japanese attack at Pearl Harbor, young men were signing up to enlist en masse.

But there was a slight problem- there weren’t enough places to train then.

Enter Tyler’s Camp Fannin, along with eight similar camps across the country, trained infantry troops for both theaters. It’s estimated that over 200,000 soldiers passed through Fannin from 1943 through the end of the war.

“Camp Fannin, when it operated, was larger than the city of Tyler,” said Dr. D.M. Edwards of the Camp Fannin Association. The Camp employed thousands of local residents and had its own water and sewer plant.

Fannin also hosted a small prisoner of war camp and an army hospital.

Thousands of troops also got occasional entertainment from the USO, along with a small movie theater on base

“They had fans, but no air conditioning, so the GIs referred to them as sweat boxes,” said Edwards.

A memorial to Camp Fannin sits along US 271 in Tyler in front of UT Tyler Hospital’s North Campus.