Paris Goes To War

War came Paris, Texas on December 7, 1941. The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent declarations of war of the Axis countries of Japan, Germany and Italy against The United States brought World War II literally to the doorsteps of Paris.

The U.S. response to war hit Paris like a tidal wave and the results were everlasting.

This small East Texas town responded as hundreds of small towns across America did. Its sons, daughters and citizens joined the war effort.

But Paris began to develop its own uniqueness with the opening of Camp Maxey just a few miles north of the city limits in 1942. Two major divisions, the 102d Infantry Division and the 99th Infantry Division, trained there. It is estimated that over 200,000 troops and civilians trained and worked at Camp Maxey during its short 4 years of existance.

Camp Maxey was also selected as a site, as were many other training camp sites in Texas, to house German prisoners-of-war. More than 6,000 Germans were hosted there until well after the last shots of anger were fired in Europe in 1945.

Paris, as was the whole country, was like a stirred pot. The young men and women who came to Camp Maxey to train spent their leaves in town. Many of them met, courted, and married local men and women. Likewise, Paris sons and daughters who left were meeting their future spouses. The long historic ties that had held Paris together as a tight community were stretched around the world.

To and from Paris the letters streamed in and out from friends and families: from the battle fronts, from far-away hometowns, from Washington D.C., to Europe, to The Pacific and literally all points of the globe.

Sad news of soldiers being killed, exciting news of the birth of a new baby, common news about town gossip all swirlled around this small town of Paris. Paris was making its contribution to march the country toward victory.

In 1941 Paris Goes To War.


How To Add A Story & Pictures To Paris Goes To War

If you have stories, pictures or items of interest to contribute to these web pages, please email them to steelyfamilias@yahoo.com. You can send written articles in doc or pdf formats and pictures are preferred in jpg format. Contributions will be posted according the their relevance to Paris, Lamar County, Camp Maxey and World War II. All contributions may be used on these blog web pages as well as any future publications that may appear on the subject.

Tuesday, April 23, 2019

The First Wedding Held At Camp Maxey-Paris News

Lt. Joseph Craton Bates of the 405th Infantry Regiment, 102d Infantry Division hadn't snagged a local but he and his bride, nee Katherine Margaret Edgeworth, set the trend.  The tsunami of weddings to hit Paris, Lamar County and surrounding Texas counties as well as Hugo, Choctaw County, and surrounding Oklahoma counties began with this one.  

The opening of Camp Maxey was a raid on the single female population of the area by the thousands of soldiers that came to be stationed there.  Add into this mix the hundreds, maybe thousands, of girlfriends that came to Paris to visit their sweethearts and wound up getting hitched like the Bates.  

The invasion to capture the locals was so successful after the activation by the 102d Infantry Division in 1942 that one almost has to feel sorry for the thousands of 99th Infantry Division and the estimated 70,000 IARTC soldiers that followed.  It had to be tougher to find female companionship.  But it appears those succeeding waves of soldiers took full advantage of the remaining available population of single women to find marital bliss.  

Add into this mix the hundreds, maybe thousands, of girlfriends that came to Paris to visit their boyfriends and wound up getting hitched like the Bates.  The demographics were perfect for the soldiers.  Most of them were under the age of 25.  Most of the young Paris men had been shipped out to other parts of the country and were, by all probability, courting the population at their assignments as hard those young soldiers did in Paris.

Camp Maxey had six chapels and there are reports that these chapels were 100% booked several times a day.  The USO in Paris would help the young women coming from afar in making arrangements for the weddings.  Every local church opened their doors and aisles to keep the wartime brides happy.

I’m sure the local conditions propagated many a “Dear John” letter to some Paris bloke that was taking care of Uncle Sam’s business.  After all, for the women this was one big party.  With the encouragement of the Camp Maxey commanding officers, the local population organized the eligible young women into a group known as the Maxey Command.  Their official function was to provide support for the young soldiers as dance partners, dates to local social functions, and to boost a soldier’s morale.  Several times a month the young Paris women, under the watchful eye of chaperons, would hop buses in Paris and head out to the camp for an evening of dancing or movies.  Or they would go to of the local USOs located in Paris and Hugo where dances were hosted weekly.

The young ladies and their families were encouraged to invite soldiers they met to dinner, or join them at church, or just get together for a picnic. 

The end result the was the youth of Paris being spread from sea to shining sea and raising their families in lands afar.  I marvel today that my Google searches turn up so many obituaries from other states that report the deceased female to been from Paris, Texas and she met her husband at Camp Maxey.  There are endless chapters to a book to be written on this topic. 
   


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