The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 95, July 1991 - April, 1992 Page: 295
598 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Lone Star POWs
The soldiers' story began with the mobilization of the Thirty-sixth
Division, Texas National Guard, on November 25, 1940, when Ameri-
can entry into the European war seemed imminent. Between mid-
December 1940 and the summer of 1941, the National Guardsmen al-
ternated their time undergoing a semblance of basic training at Camp
Bowie in Brownwood and participating in the Third Army maneuvers
in Louisiana. After returning from the maneuvers that summer, the
Thirty-sixth Division became part of a general army reorganization.
Impressed with the success of the smaller, more flexible Wehrmacht divi-
sions in Europe, the U.S. Army revamped its so-called "square" divi-
sions into "triangular" ones, thus abandoning the brigade concept and
eliminating one infantry regiment and one artillery battalion from each
division. The artillery unit separated from the Thirty-sixth Division
was the Second Battalion, 131 st Field Artillery, which had been part of
the Sixty-first Field Artillery Brigade. The Second Battalion included
Headquarters Battery from Decatur and Wichita Falls; Firing Batteries
D, E, and F from Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Jacksboro respectively;
Service Battery from Lubbock and Plainview; and the Medical Detach-
ment from Plainview.'
The army assigned the Second Battalion to the Philippine Islands to
form a new "triangular" division along with other detached units from
the United States. Before departing, enlisted men who were married or
over twenty-eight years of age had the option of transferring, their
places to be taken by draftees and men from Batteries A, B, and C of
the First Battalion. As a result, the vast majority of the Texans who left
for the Philippines were between the ages of eighteen and twenty-two."
<ated individuals, as was the case for most of the vetel ans cited in this artulc, are incapable or
unable to record their,experiences on papcl, thus, ol al history interviews offer an opportunity
to hll this void Interviews, moreover, often provide a flavor and distinctive speaking style not
found in written documents
'Allen, The Lost Battaion, ii - 12, Fillmore, Pi soone of Wri, vii, 1 See also Rosteo, Lost Battaho
Asortation, 1985, and Lt Ilo B Hard to Ronald L Malcello, Mar 26, 198o, interview, tlan-
script (OH 510), 24-25-
The "square" or foulr-leglment divisio11 was organl7cd to mass power under the static condl-
tions of World War I, but it was unable to provide the flexibility and mobility requn ed for mod-
crn warfare The "triangular" division resembled the German combat teams, from squad to
regiment, in thie's Ihe triangular " division thus had thlee infantry legiments, each regi-
ment had three battalions, each battalion, three companies, and so on By adopting the new
organization and reducing the si7C of a division from 22,000 I1Cen to 15,000, It was possible to
create from the detached units five additional "trlangulal" divisions See Shelby L. Stanton,
Oider of Battle US An my, WoUld Wa, II (Novato, Calif Presidio Press, 1984), 8, 13-14, 381,
Kent R Greenfield et al , The Ainmy Ground Forces The Otgazation of Guound Combat T7oops 111
The Unted States A)ny in Wold Wa m II (Waslhington, 1) C Hlstoical DIvision, Dept. of the
Army, 1947), I1-12, 272; and Mark Skinner Watson, Chief of Staff Puewar Plano aNd Prepoaa-
tottu in United States Anmy I, Would War II, Series 4 (7 vols , Washington, 1) C Historical Divi-
sion, Dept. of the Army, 195o), 1, 158 (quotations).
"Allen, The Lost Battahon, 1, 14- 15, Flllmoi e, Pt isone of Wi., 2-3 l his llnformation also
came from blographl(al data sec ul ed from the inte cliews I he noncolllmlssiolled and comlnls-
sloned ofhcers were nor mally oldel than the lower-i ankng enlisted men295
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 95, July 1991 - April, 1992, periodical, 1992; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117153/m1/355/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.