Friends of Camp Hearne hosts Remembering D-Day this weekend

HEARNE, Texas (KBTX) - Friends of Camp Hearne is a group dedicated to preserving information about the former World War II Prisoner of War camp, located in Hearne. This weekend they’re hosting Remembering D-Day.

Re-enactors at the museum will bring D-Day to life to reflect on the courage, honor, and sacrifice of America’s men and women in military service during WWII.

Friends of Camp Hearne President, Cathy Lazarus, says she and her team are excited to host this event.

“We’ve been at it for about 10 years and we added the spring events so that it would coincide with Memorial Day,” said Lazarus.

“We’re going to have our reenactors wear their uniforms. They’re going to have their gear and their equipment. The most exciting thing is that we’ve incorporated the airport this year and we do have a few vintage planes coming, which should be exciting for those aviation enthusiasts.”

Attendees will be able to purchase a ticket to ride on the buddy seat of a pilot trainer or the copilot seat of a VIP passenger.

Lazarus says Hearne has a little history with helping in America’s efforts in WWII.

“During World War Two, like so many world rural towns in America, there were not a whole lot of things that they could do. They were agricultural, so there was a need for agricultural labor. And they had space, and that space was needed to build a really rather large camp and they housed up to 4,800 POW’s, mostly German, during the three to four years of the war. It’s so crazy to think about that happening right down the street.”

“There were camps in almost every state. Texas had more than most, and Hearne was one of the larger ones. It was not only a POW camp where they held the prisoners, but it was also a big military base.”

The Remembering D-Day event is taking place on Saturday, June 3 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Camp Hearne.

A full day of events is planned along with Hearne Airport hosting WWII planes.