Texas Almanac, 1958-1959 Page: 75
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HISTORY OF TEXAS. 75
covering 20,000 acres and with an invest-
ment -of $100,000,000.
Other navy activities - included the
Naval Air Station at Dallas, Marine Air
Station at Eagle Mountain Lake north of
Fort Worth, Camp Wallace near Galves-
ton and miscellaneous activities for ad-
ministration, procuring war materiel, in-
spection of ordnance and recruiting.
Achievement, Casualties.
An estimated 750,000 Texans served in
World War IL As of June 30, 1945, there
were 185,034 Texans in the Navy, Marine
Corps and Coast Guard. Answering the
call of -the Army, including Air Forces,
were 542,000 Texans. Included in the
service forces from Texas were more than
12,000 women, 8,000 of whom were in the
Army. Personnel from Texas included
153,167 men in the Navy, 22,091 in the
Marines and 7,773 in the Coast Guard.
In early 1946 a survey showed more
than thirty Texans in the Army had re-
ceived the Congressional Medal of Honor,
including Lt. Audie Murphy of Farmers-
ville, "most decorated soldier of World
War II." Six Texans in the Navy re-
ceived the highest award, the Medal of
Honor, including Commander Samuel D.
Dealey of Dallas, killed in action, who
was termed "most decorated man in the
Navy." An additional ninety-two Texans
had received the Navy Cross for World
War II heroism. -
Fighting outfits with a heavy comple-
ment of Texans and usually called "Texas
outfits" were: 36th Division, with its
famed Lost Battalion in Java and Euro-
pean record as first Americans to set foot
on European soil. in 1943 through inva-
sion of Italy; 112th Cavalry Division Pa-
cific theater; 2d Infantry Division .Euro-
pean theater; 103d :Infantry -Regiment,
Pacific theater; 1st Cavalry Division, Eu-
ropean theater; 90th Infantry Division,
European theater.
Either born in Texas or a resident of
Texas! for a considerable time were 155
Army generals. These included Gen.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, native of Denison,
Texas, who was Supreme Allied Com-
mander in Europe, then Chief of Staff,
and now, as President, Commander in
Chief of all Army, Navy and Air Forces.
Included in this list also are Gen. Walter
Krueger,. commanding general of the
Sixth Army, from. San Atonio. Twelve
admirals in the Navy were from Texas
including Adm. Chester W. Nimitz o
Fredericksburg, commander in chief of
the Pacific Fleet; Director of the Wom-
en's Army Corps-was. Col. Oveta Culp
Hobby of Houston, first woman ever to
wear an Army uniform as a member of
the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps, later
to become the nation's first Secretary of
the Department -of Health, Education and
Welfare. More than 8,000 Texans were in
the WAC. Early in 1945 approximately
4,200 Texas women were in Women Ac-
cepted for Voluntary Emergency Service,
or WAVES (Navy). Others volunteered
in the SPARS and Marines.
According to figures furnished by the
War Department in June 1946 from a
cut-off date of Jan. 31, 1946, Texas sol-diers suffered 15,764 fatalities out of the
estimated 542,000 responding to calls for
service in the World War II Army. The
15,764 deaths comprised 4.72.per cent in
the Army's total number of dead and
missing. Of the 15,764 dead, 8,403 were
killed in action, 1,166 died of wounds, 48
died of injuries, 4,935 were nonbattle
deaths, 1,134 were adjudged dead on the
findings of a board after missing for long
periods.
Texas casualties in the United States
Navy, including Coast Guard and Marines,
totaled 7,258, according to an announce-
ment in August, 1946. Of the 7,258, a
total of 3,023 died in combat and 84 died
in prison camp; 3,884 were wounded and
267 were released prisoners.
Gov. Beauford H. Jester (Jan. 21, 1947,
to July 11, 1949) came into office after a
heated race centered on the issue of man-
agement of the affairs of the University
of Texas. Dr. Homer P. Rainey, presi-
dent of the university, had become in-
volved with the Board of Regents, charg-
ing them with limiting academic freedom
and other mismanagement. When he was
ousted by the Board of Regents, Nov. 1,
1944, he carried his case to the people by
running for Governor in the Democratic
primaries of 1946.
in thee 14-candidate first primary the
leading candidates were Jester, 44,804;
Rainey, .291,282; Grover Sellers, 162,431;
Jerry Sadler. 103,120; John Lee Smith,
102,941. In the runoff primary Jester de-
feated Rainey, 701.018 to 355.654.
The Fiftieth Legislature meeting in
Governor Jester's first administration
submitted a number of important amend-
ments to the Constitution which were
adopted by the people. notably one abol-
ishing the state ad valorem tax for gen-
eral revenue purposes, and one reducing
the Confederate pension tax from 7c to 2c
and levying a 5c tax for the state col-
leges. On April 16, 1947, the explosion at
Texas City of the French SS Grandcamp,
loaded with chemicals, =killed 512 people
and injured 3,000, with property damage
of $40,000,000 to $70,000,000.
Governor Jester was re-elected in 1948.
Most notable race that year was between
former Gov. Coke R. Stevenson and U.S.
Representative Lyndon B. Johnson for
U.S Senator. Stevenson led in the first
primary but the count in the second pri-
mary gave Johnson an 87-vote lead, the
closest major race in Texas political his-
tory. The Fifty-first Legislature set a
landmark in Texas educational history
by enacting the Gilmer-Aikin law, reor-
ganizing the public-school system of the
state,
The regular session of the. Fifty-first
Legislature was the longest in Texas his-
tory. It -began .Jan. 11, 1948, and ad-
journed July 6, a-period of 177 days.
Following the sudden death of Gover-
nor Jester, July 11, 1949, Lt. Gov. Allan
Shivers became the state's chief executive.
Gov..Allan Shivers .(July 11, 1949, to
Jan. -15, 1957), served out the unexpired
term of Governor Jester and: was nomin
nated in the Democratic primary of 1950
in a race with six other candidates, re-
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Texas Almanac, 1958-1959, book, 1957; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117139/m1/77/: accessed May 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.