World War II - Round Rock

World War II - Round Rock

Written by Bob Brinkman Friday, 03 October 2008

During the 1940s, Round Rock was entwined in the large-scale and local impacts of World War II. Hundreds of young men — some who had never left Texas before — volunteered or were drafted to fight for freedom in a war halfway around the world, just as many of their fathers had done a generation earlier. Meanwhile, many women and children served the local community.

In July 1943, Johnnie Burk sent a letter to his family from his station in north Africa.

“I guess there aren’t many boys left in Round Rock now,” Burk said in the letter. “Have been thinking I would run into some of them over here, but so far I haven’t.”

Three friends who did run into each other during the war were Chester Johnson, Leslie McNeese, and W.O. “Bo” Warren. They played together on the 1941 Round Rock High School Dragons football team that went 9-1-1, winning their district and bidistrict playoff game against Marble Falls High School. In the spring of that year, all three joined the Navy and saw each other three years later on the beaches of Okinawa in the Pacific Ocean.

While being interviewed for the U.S. Latino and Latina World War II Oral History Project, Round Rock native Porfirio Escamilla Martinez recalled time spent in the 99th Chemical Mortar Battalion. In three years of combat, his group helped recapture the north African ports of Oran and Algiers from Axis control during “Operation Torch” and then continued on to Italy, France, Poland and Germany. Martinez participated in the D-Day invasion at Normandy and the liberation of a concentration camp in Poland. Three years as an ammunition bearer firing 26-pound shells left him with profound hearing loss.

At home, Round Rock citizens sacrificed economically and set aside personal goals for the good of the community and the country. Round Rock and Williamson County exceeded quotas for every one of seven war bond drives. Food and supplies were rationed, and residents brainstormed creative ways to “use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without.”

Scrap paper and metal drives were popular ways to gather supplies for the war effort. The high-water crossing iron bridge over Brushy Creek at the round rock, built in the 1890s, was dismantled in a fall 1943 scrap drive so the metal could be melted down and used to build tanks.

Many women and children filled in for absent men on farms and in local businesses, while others worked in city factories to help produce equipment and weapons for the war. Women also took over firefighting duties, establishing the state’s first all-female pumper team that responded to fire alarms in Round Rock. They also won championships at firefighting team competitions.

Families displayed flags with blue stars to show children serving in the armed forces, which changed to gold stars for those killed in action. Luther Ferrell and James Luther Lee were among those who died in the war.

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