World War II veterans rescued the world from dark times in the 1940s, and many of them trained right here in East Texas.
This weekend, some of the soldiers returned to Tyler for the 11th Annual Camp Fannin Association Reunion.
Most of the veterans are now in their seventies, but were only eighteen when the left for Camp Fannin more than fifty years ago.
Remnants of their training posts remain. Hidden inside the old camp a mock japanese village still sits with concrete bunkers. Soldiers called the area"Little Tokyo," because its where they learned to take over Japanese fighting posts.
The veterans come from all over the United States for the celebration this weekend--about a 150 were in attendance.
Between 1943 and 1946, 250,000 soldiers stopped through Camp Fannin. In those days, the camp's population was greater than that of Tyler.
The organizers of the reunion expect there will be more veterans in attendance next year...when Camp Fannin celebrates its 60th anniversary.
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