Camp Maxey

Sometimes, history is just across the highway.

Growing up, I never knew what had happened on the other side of those railroad tracks.

Across the highway, just beyond those tracks, stood Camp Maxey. This old photograph shows one of the guard towers that once stood there.

I passed the camp almost every day and even attended Cub Scout meetings in one of the old barracks.

But to me, it was simply a National Guard training camp.

Years later, watching Saving Private Ryan brought home the reality of the war—and just how young so many of those soldiers were. It sent me searching for more World War II history, especially as it related to my hometown.

That’s when I learned thousands of German POWs had once been held there, including prisoners captured during the fighting in North Africa.

I wish I had paid more attention—and asked more questions when there were still people around who remembered it.

As a kid, I thought history was something that happened somewhere else.