Texas Almanac, 1952-1953 Page: 317
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Summary of U.S. Army Operations in Texas
Fourth Army headquarters, housed in the
72-year-old Fort Sam Houston Quadrangle,
controls all Army operations in five states-
Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana and New Mexico.
Lt. Gen. LeRoy Lutes is the commanding
general. (As of June 15, 1951.) The deputy
Army commander is Maj. Gen. Hobart R.
Gay, recently returned from the battle fronts
of Korea, where he commanded the First
Cavalry Division. General Gay succeeded Maj.
Gen. A. D. Bruce, who became commandant
of the Armed Forces Staff College, Norfolk,
Va., in July. Col. Francis T. Dodd was ele-
vated in May to the Chief of Staff post,
succeeding the late Maj. Gen. Hugh F. T.
Hoffman, who died in May.
Besides the administration of Regular Army
affairs within the five-state area, the organi-
zation and training activities for the civilian
components, the Organized Reserve Corps,
the Junior and Senior ROTC and the National
Guard, require the major portion of the time
of the headquarters.
Fort Sam Houston comprises approximately
1,500 buildings and occupies more than 3,300
acres of land. This includes the San Antonio
Distribution Depot, the physical plant of
which covers about 255 acres of land. The
depot maintains its own railway system of
twelve miles of - trackage and . twenty-two
miles of all-weather streets.
Fort Hood, near Killeen, is the home of the
Second Armored (Hell on Wheels) Division,
the only fully organized and equipped ar-
mored division in the United States Army.
The First Armored Division also is being
trained at this fort. Fort Hood is also the
scene of National Guard and Organized Re-
serve training during the summer months.
Fort Bliss, El Paso, is the Army's Anti-
Aircraft and Guided Missile Center. Also at
Fort Bliss is one of the five Replacement
Centers in the U.S. The William Beaumont
General Hospital is also located at El Paso.
Fort Crockett, at Galveston, for many years
the site of important coastal batteries, is now
primarily a recreation center for officers and
enlisted men and their families. Fishing,
tennis, golf and numerous other forms of
recreation are provided for those who take
advantage of the Recreation Center for a
week's sojourn at a nominal fee.
Army Posts and Camps in Texas-
Commanding Officers.
(As of June 15, 1951.)
Fort Bliss,-Maj. Gen. John T. Lewis, com-
manding general.
Fort Sam Houston.-Col. Eustis L. Poland,
deputy post commander.
Fort Hood.-Maj. Gen. Williston B. Palmer.
Fort Crockett.-Capt. Glenroy Ryan.
Texas Military District.-Col. Clarence M.
Culp, executive, American Statesman Build-
ing, Seventh and Colorado Streets, Austin,
Texas.
Military History of San Antonio.
The colorful, Spanish-type Fort Sam Hous-
ton Quadrangle, which originally was de-
signed as a quartermaster depot, served as
Army headquarters. Soldiers, whose names
are closely linked with the histories of the
Civil War, World War I and World War II,
have seen duty, in some form or another, at
the Quadrangle and its environs. Some of
those who have written exciting chapters in
the nation's and San Antonio's military his-
tory. are Robert E. Lee, Phil Sheridan, W. T.
Sherman, Albert S. Johnston, John J. Per-
shing, Theodore Roosevelt, Frederick Fun-
ston, Dwight Eisenhower, Walter Krueger,
Courtney Hodges and Jonathan M. Wain-
wright.
San Antonio was destined for a military
center, as far back as 1718, when it was an
isolated presidio of the King of Spain. It was
established to protect the missionaries and
encourage the settlement of the country. Forthe past one hundred years the United States
Army has maintained a permanent military
garrison at San Antonio.
The first serious step toward establishing
a permanent military post at San Antonio was
taken in 1849 during the reconstruction of the
Alamo. By 1850 the Alamo was restored and
was occupied as a quartermaster depot. The
San Antonio Arsenal was the first building to
be constructed by the government for military
purposes. Construction was started in 1859,
but was not completed until 1866, because of
the interruption by the War Between the
States.
After that war, San Antonio's military am-
bitions pushed forward. In May, 1870, the
city donated forty acres of land on Govern-
ment Hill for the establishment of a perma-
nent post and by 1875, fifty-two more acres
had been donated. In 1873 Gen. Phil Sheridan,
General Meyers and Secretary of War Bel-
knap surveyed the site for a quartermaster
depot, at the request of Gen. U. S. Grant,
then President. The surveying trio were not
enthusiastic about the site as a quartermaster
depot and so reported. Nevertheless, Presi-
dbnt Grant had an act passed by Congress,
which finally resulted in the Quadrangle
being completed in December, 1879. By 1886
a hospital and officers' quarters were com-
pleted.
One of the interesting points of the Quad-
rangle is the clock tower, which is ninety
feet high, and at one time supported a 6,400-
gallon water tank.
Just prior to and during World War I,
there was a National Guard mobilization
under General Funston in a new tent camp
adjacent to Fort Sam Houston, known as
Camp Wilson.
World War I brought about the last sizable
expansion of Fort Sam Houston, when more
than 2,000 acres were purchased for the con-
struction of Camp Travis, and 104 acres were
added for a general supply depot. In 1928 an
extensive program of building new barracks
and quarters was undertaken for the famous
2d Division. In 1937 Brooke General Hospital
was completed. It now is a part of the Brooke
Army Medical Center, which also includes the
Army Medical Field Service School. The
Brooke General Hospital is one of the largest
and finest military hospitals in the world.
Texas Military District
The Organized Reserve Corps, authorized
by Congress in the National Defense Act, is
one of the principal civilian components of
the United States Army. It includes the per-
sonnel of the Officers Reserve Corps and the
Enlisted Reserve Corps and the units of the
Organized Reserve Corps.
The ORC is designed to furnish, in case of
national emergency, effectively trained units
capable of rapid expansion and deployment
and additional trained commissioned and en-
listed personnel for needed replacement and
expansion of the Army.
The Chief of Staff of the Army is immedi-
ately responsible for supervision and control
of the ORC with the advice and assistance of
the Executive for Reserve and ROTC Affairs,
a special staff officer in the Department of
the Army. Command channels for the ORC
are the same as those established for the
Army.
Command of all Organized Reserve Corps
personnel is exercised by each of the six
Army commanders in the continental United
States for reserve personnel residing in their
respective areas. The ORC in Texas is under
command of the Fourth Army, with headquar-
ters at San Antonio. Each Army area is organ-
ized into military districts, one for each state
in the area. Chiefs of the military districts are
responsible to the Army commanders for the
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Texas Almanac, 1952-1953, book, 1951; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117137/m1/319/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.