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Before World War II, Calhoun County was primarily involved in farming, ranching and commercial seafood but after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the county became a major participant in the war effort. In November 1940, much of the county's shoreline had been condemned for military purposes. The federal government took over Matagorda Island and property owners were instructed to pack up all belongings and leave. The seriousness of the situation was realized on June 26, 1942 when Mexican cargo ships were sunk by German u-boats within sight of Port O' Connor. The military established a protective watch area and residents patrolled beaches. One night a patrol discovered Germans coming ashore on Matagorda Peninsula and took them prisoner. The army installed a surveillance system between October 1940 and January 1941 in Port O' Connor, Port Lavaca and Olivia. Citizens were trained to identify and report airplanes within view. The Port Lavaca tower observed a man using a fishing pole to put up an antenna; he was transmitting information to German u-boats in the Gulf of Mexico. Turtle and Matagorda Bay provided shoreline for the division of artillery to practice and train. The United States Army selected nearby Camp Hulen as the base for anti-aircraft artillery training. Camp Indianola served as an anti-aircraft target practice area that used remote control drones called radio aircraft target service for practice. In 1943, the Matagorda Island Gunnery Range was built that supported training for the island bombing range. Citizens of Calhoun County became a major party to the national war effort to train soldiers for overseas deployment. (2012) |
